Can't Tell Me Nothing
by AZTECPHENOM
Summary: Five years ago, Riddick left a little girl in a holy man's care. When she disappears and joins with mercs Riddick goes on the hunt. She isn't the little girl he left behind, and he isn't her infallible hero anymore. Things get complicated.
1. Good news, Bad news

Disclaimer: Don't own it...never will.

_Five years. Long time to be stuck on a planet covered in ice. Long time to stay in hiding. Funny how things work, isn't it? For the first twenty-something years of my life I couldn't give shit __**less**__ about another human being, and now I'm sittin' in this asshole of a ship hidden in some caves, off the fuckin' map. For what? Just to keep some mouthy little kid safe. Mouthy little kid, who made me laugh, calmed the beast. Damn, five years now, Jack won't be a little kid any more. Jack. Jackie. Jacqueline, whatever she goes by now, she'll always be 'kid' to me. Shit, if someone would've told me six years ago I'd be sitting here, 100 kilometers away from the closest bar, freezing my ass off to keep some old man and girl safe…I woulda slapped him stupid…funny how things work. _

Riddick shifted on his cot, throwing a heavy arm across his eyes and grumbling to himself in the pitch black of the ship, "Might as well get some sle…"

**BEEP BEEP BEEP.**

_What the fuck? _

**BEEP BEEP BEPP**

"Shit", he sighed hauling himself up off the stiff makeshift bed. Sauntering over to the com-unit he flicked on the receiver button and flopped into the pilot's seat. Slowly Imam's face flickered onto the screen.

Riddick sat up a little in the chair. Imam only contacted Riddick about twice a year, only when someone had been asking too many questions or for updates on Jack. Hoping that Imam's call was concerning the latter, Riddick flicked on the audio transmitter.

"Imam," Riddick said.

"Mr. Riddick," Imam smiled a little, "I am pleased to see that Allah has kept you safe so far."

Riddick grunted. There was an odd, hesitant silence. Riddick watched Imam pinch the bridge of his nose before beginning to speak.

"Mr. Riddick," Imam began.

"What's the problem," Riddick interrupted. He didn't like the way this was going.

"It's Jack," Imam hesitated, obviously choosing his next words very carefully. "I have exhausted every resource I have, Mr. Riddick, I hoped that it would never reach this point," he stopped again and exhaled a deep breath, "she's gone."

Riddick blinked. _Gone._

"Gone where," Riddick demanded, and when his question was met with more reluctant silence, he repeated himself, something that he very rarely did. "Gone _where, _Imam?"

"Therein lays the problem, Mr. Ri…", he started.

"Don't play games with me holy man, and cut the _mister_ shit," Riddick interrupted, growling a little, "where the _fuck_ has she gone, exactly?"

"I do not know," he answered truthfully. Truthfully, it was tearing his heart out that he didn't know where she was. That he had sworn, not only to Riddick, but to himself that he would keep the girl safe. And that she had left by her own volition, without so much as a goodbye.

"Imam," Riddick said, voice deadly calm, "I think you should try runnin' that by me again, because I could swear that you just told me that Jack, _who I left in your care, _is gone and that you don't know where she is."

"She left to find you, Riddick," Imam swallowed back the lump in his throat, _Riddick or not,_ he thought steeling himself, _I will say what needs to be said, _"she has joined with a group of mercenaries."

Riddick sat back as if he'd been slapped. _Mercs? What the fuck do you mean mercs? Jack. No fucking way. _However, what came out was, "And you know this how?"

"She sends me messages periodically," Imam replied, "to let me know that she is alive and well. But she never reveals where she is."

"Periodically, Imam," he asked, "just how long has she been gone exactly?" He knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

Imam licked his lips nervously before answering, "Mr. Riddick, what you must understand is…"

"How _long, _holy man," Riddick shouted, losing patience.

"Almost a year."

_Fuck_.

"A year…Jack's been roaming around the 'verse for a year with a bunch of fucking mercs_ by __**herself**_, and you're just _now _telling me?" Riddick said, suppressing the urge to punch in the com-unit's screen.

"I thought…" Imam began.

"NO!" Riddick shouted he was losing it. For years he had frozen his balls off on this goddamn planet, pretending to be dead, to keep them safe and now, NOW she was hooking up with the same motherfuckers that wanted to cut her up and use her for bait back on T-2. To find _him_?! Godammit Jack. "No, you didn't think, that's the problem!"

"I care for Jack just as much as you do Riddick," Imam said, voice steadily rising, "I have done everything …," he stopped short as Riddick help up his hand silencing him.

"You were supposed to keep her safe." Silence.

"I'll be on Helion Prime in four days, holy man… I suggest that you start praying to that god of yours." He flicked the switch and the connection was terminated.

Riddick did a walk-through of the ship, as the hull integrity tests ran, locking cabinets and securing his few belongings for takeoff. The steady rumbling of the ships engine calmed him, allowing him to properly check all of the pre-takeoff requirements.

As he maneuvered the ship through the stalagmites in the cave he thought about the last time he had seen the girl. She had been cursing a blue streak at his back as he walked up the ramp of the skiff, leaving her behind in New Mecca. What had she been saying? Oh yeah, that's right… something along the lines of 'You-liar-you-ass-I-_hate_-you-you-goddamn-cowardly-bastard-how-can-you-just-dump-me-on-this motherfucking-rock?'

He remembered feeling the pain and anger that radiated from her body as he stood from his crouch in front of her, placing his hand on her head. He remembered how she had gasped when he kissed her on the cheek, demanding that she continue her training. She had recovered by punching him in the gut, glaring at him and then ducking behind Imam as he took a step towards her. That was Jack in a nutshell, fearless and unpredictable, but not stupid.

He smirked as the ship began rocketing up into the night sky, leaving a trail of steam as the engines intense heat caused the moisture in the air to evaporate. _She sure had a mouth on her, little brat_. The smirk, however, turned into a scowl as he reminded himself of the circumstances of his return.

_Hope she continued her training to back up all that talk, _his cracked his neck to both sides, _because she's gonna fuckin' need it._


	2. Look Out Veros

"Godammit Farris," Jack shrieked, sputtering as oil poured down onto her head and into her nose, "I said to close the fucking valves _before_ I removed the connectors!"

She hauled her lithe body up and out of the engine compartment, swearing when her hair snagged on the compartment door latch. Stomping into the galley she swiped oil from her eyes and muttered to herself. "You stupid, sonofabitch…" she ranted hunting around for a semi-clean rag to wipe the junk off her face. _Damn this stupid ship_, she thought as she scrubbed at her face with the rag, _I more than earn my keep around this place, why can't I just get a break? _

Said sonofabitch came strolling in from the cargo hold, smiling around the thick cigar he had shoved in his mouth. "You screamed oh-angry-one," he drawled. Flopping down in one of the galley's booths .

"You're damned right I screamed," she snapped, tearing into a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up. "I got about five _fuckin_ gallons of oil, dirty used engine oil, dumped in my face. Didn't I tell you to shut off the goddamned valves?" Her eyes shot daggers at him as she twisted her long curly brown hair up into a bun, which she pinned at the top of her head with a pencil thin dagger.She puffed on the cigarette, enjoying the rich, full, fruity aroma of the smoke; _These New Syrian smokes may cost a fortune,_ she thought tapping the ashes out into the sink_, but damned if they're not worth every cred._"I suppose you did," he chuckled, dodging the oily rag she threw at him, "but I couldn't hear you screaming orders at me over Davis who, coincidently, was screaming orders at me too." She didn't laugh. "Aww, c'mon Jack," he whined, "I didn't do it on purpose."

"Well," she sighed, laughing at the puppy dog eyes Farris fixed her with, "I _guess _I could forgive you...on one condition, of course."

"Ahh," Farris laughed, suddenly uncertain, "your 'conditions' usually end up getting my pay docked, darlin', I'm out about 1,000 creds thanks to your 'conditions'".

Jack turned towards him, arching one perfectly shaped eyebrow. "I guess you should stop fuckin' up then, huh Farris?" She snorted as he rolled his eyes and sighed.

Farris sat, running his fingers through his wavy brown hair, thoughtfully puffing on his cigar until he couldn't ignore the glare she was shooting him anymore, he sighed, "All right…all right, what's it gonna be this time, huh? Don't even think about taking the hover-jet out again…Davis just about tore my head off last time."

She walked around the galley island tapping her finger on her chin, mock thinking. She knew exactly what she wanted. She had wanted it the minute they had landed on the small planet of Sona III. Three days off the ship, unsupervised in Sona's capital city Veros. Clubs glittering with strobe lights, thumping with the beat of bass filled music, teeming with peoplewho didn't know her name and didn't give a damn, lined the streets of Veros. The months of traveling in a three cabin transport vessel with five surly business oriented men was starting to wear on Jack.

She needed to be free, for three days to rid her soul of the burden she was carrying. For five years, five long painful years she had been trying to fill the void that Riddick had left when he turned his back on her that day. Just three days, away from the ship, away from the never ending engine repairs, the tedious inventory checks, away from Davis and his wandering hands. _Please,_ she thought, _just three days._

"How does three days away from the ship, unsupervised, sound to you" She asked,watching Farris out of the corner of her eye.

The cigar Farris had been smoking fell onto the table as his jaw dropped, "Jack, I'd rather piss glass, Davis would…

"Please Farris," She pushed, "Davis, Riley, and Gerod will be out trying to secure our new mark. Sieves doesn't ever leave the control room, except to cover his duties…you can easily cover my load, I've basically finished my work already…Farris, they won't even know I've been gone."

Her eyes pleaded with him. _Dammit Jack_, he thought, _don't look at me like that, you know I can't say no to you_. "Ja-ack," he drew out her name, she hated it when he did that, Riddick did the same when she was pushing it, "Davis will personally remove my balls if he finds out that I let you lea…" He faltered to a stop as he caught her glare.

"_Let_ me," she whispered furiously, "let me? I'm 19-fuckin-years old! I'm not a child godammit."

Farris winced as she slammed her hand down on the island. "Jack…you're only 19…" he regretted the words the moment they had left his mouth.

He inhaled ready to apologize but Jack held up her hand, almost shaking in rage.

"No. No! Let me get this straight," she snapped, "I'm old enough to ghost the marks who get out of control, right?"

"Right," Farris agreed, it was better not to argue with Jack when she was trying to make a point.

"And I'm old enough to bust my ass, day and night, to keep this goddamn piece of shit in the air,_ right_?"

"Well…"

"And I'm old enough to _fuck_ Davis," she spit out, lighting another cigarette, "but I'm too young to go out by myself for _three fucking days Farris…REALLY?!"_

_Shit, _he thought_, she has a good point. I guess three days isn't such a big deal. Jack can more than take care of __herself__. Man… _

Jack was beginning to work into a full blown rage when she heard Farris push himself up from the booth, "Okay."

"What," she blinked at him, not quite sure she heard him right.

"Three days Jack," he warned, looking her dead in the eye. If Davis found out, fuck the docked pay, Farris would have his balls in a vice…literally.

"Not a second more," Jack beamed as she rushed to Farris pecking the older man on the cheek before tearing down the hallway to her and Davis's room to grab her pack and credit chips.

She was lowering the docking ramp, bouncing on her toes ready to fly out when Farris gripped her shoulder. "Three days, and not a _second_ more…my ass is on the line here darlin', you got me dancin' on razorblades Jack. You know Davis…"

"What Davis don't know, won't hurt 'em," Jack interrupted, anxious to get a room and boogey down to the closest club. "He ain't gonna here shit from me Farris, promise."

And with that she was down the ramp and making her way through the docking station weaving between the ships. _Lookout Veros, _she thought almost giddy with pleasure_, here comes Jack B. Badd, and she's definitely looking to live up to her name. _

_**(A/N: Success! Two reviews...two POSITIVE reviews...complete justification for missing that last exam... laughs maniacally)**_


	3. New Meccan Dreams

"Welcome to the New Mecca Omega Docking Station, this is Deirdre from tower control," a female voice announced through the com-unit, "please identify yourself."

"Hmm, good afternoon Deirdre," Riddick crooned into the unit smirking, "that's a beautiful name," Riddick's face broke into a full grin, _this is going to be too easy_, "this is Captain Darius Frye aboard the _Mijkela_."

"Well, thank you Captain Frye," 'Deirdre' giggled into the unit, causing Riddick to roll his eyes, "please have your ships identification and cargo manifest ready upon landing, you may dock in hangar ODS32"

"Oh," Riddick said, making sure to add a note of worry to his gravelly voice, "I'm sorry Deirdre, I'm here for an urgent emergency, my mother," he fought to keep from snorting out laughter, "she's very, _very_ sick Deirdre, you see?"

There was silence on the other end of the line as Deirdre caught on to what Riddick was saying. "I'm sorry Captain Frye," she said, "I'm really supposed to make sure that all ship's cargo holds are thoro…"

"I'm sure you are," Riddick cajoled "but you see, my mother…I would appreciate it greatly…" he waited for her to take the bait. _Dumb broads always do_ he thought, allowing a smug grin to flash across his handsome face. "Well," Deirdre sounded uncertain, "I suppose, since you are here for emergency business…proceed to hangar ODS32 Captain Fry." 

"Thank you… Deirdre," He made sure so draw out her name, growling. Ha! He could hear her sharp intake of breath. _Jesus_, he thought, _I could smile at this broad and have her signing over her next paycheck. Pathetic. Hope Jack isn't one of these easy pieces of ass_, a strange spike of anger shot thorough him at the thought; _just give me another reason to beat her ass_.

_It has nothing to do with you Dickey boy_, a voice in the back of his head said

_The fuck it doesn't_, his animal growled back.

_She ain't yours you stupid prick, you gave that up when you dropped her on this rock_, the voice countered smugly.

He couldn't help it, the inner beast snarled in protest to that, _Shut the fuck up, I took her skinny ass off that planet, took care of her for damn near a year, kept her alive, taught her how to defend herself, spend five years on that ice cube of a planet to keep her safe …shit if she ain't_… it stopped, pacing back and forth within its cage in irritation.

_Ain't what? Yours? You think she's yours Dickey boy, hmmm?_ His conscious laughed at him, _shit, guess all that ice musta went and frozen your brain, you dumb motherfucker._ His inner beast snarled, but couldn't disagree with that. Shit, he'd battled himself on this time and time again, there wasn't time to take a walk down _that_ particular lane, right now he had a holy man to get straight with.

He chuckled darkly to himself before reaching over to sign off the com-unit when Deirdre's voice piped up one last time, "My shift ends in 0600 hours, Captain Frye, feel free to _pay back_ that favor."

_Yeah sure thing_….Deirdre, he laughed to himself, and signed off without replying. He docked smoothly and, wasting no time, threw on a cloak covering his newly shaven head, pulled his goggles down over his shined eyes, and exited the ship. He watched to make sure that the ramp was fully secured before turning his back on the _Mijkela_ and setting off on his journey to Imam's. Hell, wouldn't be the first time some slick shit wanna-be badass slipped into the cargo hold as the ramp ascended. Seven years ago he returned to "his" ship to find no less than three mercs crouched in the corners of the cargo hold, waiting to jump him as he entered. They were a bunch of rookies, trying to make names for themselves. Three gauges against two shivs. Piece of fucking cake. He had almost felt bad after effortlessly ghosting all three without breaking a sweat. Almost.

Riddick tried to keep to the shadows of alley's and deserted streets as he made his way to Imam's house, but as he neared his destination he quickly realized that it would be impossible for him to remain unseen if he were to try to enter the holy man's house through the front door. Surrounded by an ivy covered wall, the house was damn near impossible to enter without walking straight through the center of a busy market.

_Godammit_, Riddick thought as he scaled the crumbling wall that faced a deserted alley, _last fucking thing I need is to be seen by some asshole merc_. He dropped silently down into the side garden of the compound, dusting off his cloak and striding into the house through the sliding glass door that was standing wide open.

The familiar sound of the holy man's prayers reached his ears as he made his way into the living room. A large framed photo, caught his attention and as he made his way over to it he realized that it was a picture of a tall cocky looking blonde boy with his arm wrapped a little too snugly around a petite long haired brunette, a beautiful brunette with large green eyes and a small uncomfortable smile on her face …who looked suspiciously like... _Like Jack_, he thought growling unconsciously, _and who the **fuck** is this clown?_

In the back of his mind he noticed that the prayers had stopped and began to turn away from the curiously annoying picture when, out of the corner of his eye he saw a body launch itself at him, and in a flash a shiv appeared in his hand. Riddick whirled around to face the 'attacker'. The very small attacker. The very small attacker, who strangely was grinning ear to ear while her mass of unruly curly hair bounced in time with her steps. Oh shit, Riddick thought twirling the shiv so it faced him instead of the little girl bearing down on him, "its a little kid. Must be Im…"

THUD

Before he could finish his thought, the little girl slammed full force into Riddick's chest, almost knocking him off balance. Out of reflex he wrapped his arms around her, stunned.

"You're Riddick," She beamed up at him.

He pulled his head back to get a good view at the little creature wrapping herself around his torso, chattering about monsters and bedtime stories.

He was trying to dislodge her from his chest when the sound of a throat being cleared made him snap his head up, his arm protectively going around the girl as his shiv once again appeared in his hand.

"Mr. Riddick." As much as he wanted to Imam couldn't hold back the amused smile creeping across his face. Any other parent in the universe would faint at the sight of the infamous convict Richard B. Riddick holding their child in his left arm and a shiv, that'd undoubtedly claimed the lives of many grown men, in his right. _Ahh but, as much as he hates it_, Imam thought, _I know his heart, he would never harm a child._

"Imam," Riddick shifted uncomfortably, dropping his arm to his side, causing the girl to wrap her arms around his neck tighter, "this your kid?"

"Yes," he replied chuckling, "this is my daughter Ziza. Ziza this is…"

"I know who you are," the little girl interrupted, digging her heels into Riddick's side like he was a tree she was determined to climb, "you're Riddick. You saved sissy and my daddy from the monsters." _Sissy? _Riddick shot a look at Imam raising an eyebrow.

"Such are our bedtime stories," Imam explained, shrugging.

"Uh, yeah kid," Riddick said looking back down at the girl clinging to his side. His frown didn't faze the little girl at all; she began bombarding him with questions as she poked at his goggles and continued digging her heels into his waist. When she reached out to explore the shiv he still held in his right hand, he held it out of her reach shaking his head slowly. She pouted, a look that Riddick was sure had been practiced to perfection, before he knew it a low chuckle escaped his throat and the little girl's mouth snapped shut and her eyes grew to the size of saucers. "What?"

"Sissy said you never laughed," she whispered in awe, as if he had just grown a second head. Riddick's mood soured instantly at the mention of Jack, excuse me _Sissy_.

"Yeah," he said wrapping his arm back up underneath the tiny girl and pulling back to look her dead in her eye, "and what else did uh…_Sissy_, say about me?" This should prove interesting.

The little girl perked up instantly at being asked a question by the man she had heard stories about all her life. "She said that you were the biggest, baddest, meanest motherf…"

"_Ziza_," Imam spluttered irritated but not all together shocked, it was Jack after all, "why don't you go find your mother and help her prepare dinner. Mr. Riddick and I must talk."

"But baba," she whined holding tighter to Riddick. "Ziza," Imam warned, knowing that he would never, could never actually play the role of disciplinarian. "Yes baba," she pouted sliding down Riddick and sulking off into the kitchen to find her mother.

"Cute kid," Riddick smirked. He pulled off his goggles and lounged back onto the overstuffed couch in the formal sitting room, fixing Imam with his steady silver gaze. "So Imam, the girl…what's the deal?"

Imam sighed sitting across from Riddick. "I have hired the best hackers I could find to trace where her messages have been coming from. I have done everything I can. She left here, only leaving a note and some gifts for Ziza. I was worried out of my mind that she had been killed until I received her first message, about eleven months ago." He looked at Riddick waiting for him to respond. Silence.

"Our conversations are never too detailed," he continued, rubbing his hands over his face for what seemed the hundredth time that day, "however, they seem to be increasingly…tense. She is unhappy. I can feel it. I fear for her Mr. Riddick, for her safety. She is still a young woman; a mercenary ship is no place for her. She should be here, safe at home with her fam…" his voice broke and he buried his head in his hands.

Riddick watched, somewhat uncomfortable with this display of emotion. Sure, in the eight months he had spent with them after the crash, he had at some point become accustomed to Imam even thinking of him as a friend, someone who could be trusted; but, sitting here watching a grown man cry over a girl who wasn't really his daughter, but loved just as much, made something stir in Riddick. Something that he preferred would stay still and dormant so he didn't have to deal with it. _Just do what you're here to do Dick. That's it, that's all._

"Show me the messages," Riddick demanded, standing. He knew Imam cared for Jack as his own daughter, but just sitting there listening to the other man sob left too much time for Riddick to think, and self-reflection was not something Richard B. Riddick spent a great deal of time dealing with. Plus, the sooner he got Jack away from those mercs, the better. He needed to see those messages, now. Spending his teenage years as a military assassin and his adult years on the run had taught Riddick a few things about tracing people and staying hidden that he was sure no punk kid hacker could know.

"They are stored in the com-unit in my study," Imam replied, pointing down the hallway, "third door to the left."

Two hours later Riddick walked into the dining room hold a sheet of coordinates in his hand, duffle bag slung over his shoulder. "Imam," he said badly startling the young woman who he assumed was his wife, Lajjun. She dropped her fork on the plate and refused to meet his eyes. _Whatever_, he thought, _I don't have time for this I'm-not-the-bad-guy shit. It'll take me at least two days to get to Sona III. And besides_, he let an evil smirk cross his features, scaring the woman more, _I **am **the fucking bad guy._

Imam stood and left the table walking with Riddick into the courtyard. The sun was almost completely set, allowing Riddick to remain without his goggles. He stared at Imam scowling for a long moment before he spoke. "She's on Sona III, party planet, dangerous place, run by the citizens, no established system. That's not the problem though," he pulled down his goggles, rubbed his hand over his head and sighed, "the problem is that the place is _crawling_ with mercs looking for a payday."

"I understand," Imam started.

"No, I don't think you do," Riddick interrupted. "I'm leaving for Sona III, for Jack, tonight. She'll be safe until I get there. If Jack kept up with her training like you say she has, the locals there won't be a problem." He pulled himself up onto the wall and perched there like some great predator staring down into the calm face of Imam. "It's what's going to happen to her _after_ I find her that you should be worried about." And with that he was gone, jogging back to the docks.

He reached the ship punched in his access code and strode inside. As he waited for the ship to power up he let his mind wander to his time in Imam's home.

It had only taken about an hour to locate Jack. She wasn't as clever as she thought. The rest of the time he had spent in her room. He had walked into it only to find some recent photo, some letter, some clue as to who she may be with. _A boyfriend maybe?A merc boyfriend?_ Riddick had ground his teeth at the thought.

She was pushing it. He hadn't made it more than three feet into her room when her scent had attacked his senses, rendering him thoughtless for a minute. She could've just walked out of the room her scent was so strong. _Those damn candy apples. Definitely Jackie…but something else too. Something more…vanilla and cinnamon._ Riddick inhaled deeply and growled in appreciation before he realized just who the fuck he had been thinking about. This was Jack! This was "kid"! _Yeah that's right KID,_ he had barked at himself. _There's no way we're gonna ride THAT thought-train, you sick bastard_. But goddamn she smelled like heaven (if he had believed in it). Like a woman. Not like a kid at all. _Well, that's just fucking fine but she's still 'kid' to you,_ he told his beast, _don't ever forget that._

He had sorted through her clothes, pulling out some cargos and tanks that she might need to change into in case he had to just drag her ass back to the ship in a hurry. He threw her clothes into a duffle bag and was turning away from the closet when a flash of light from the bottom of the closet caught his eye. He stooped down and pulled out a metal encased book, locked with a password. _Looks like Sissy didn't want anybody seeing whatever's inside here._ He smirked to himself as he pocketed it. He felt a twinge of guilt for blatantly violating her privacy, but he got over it quickly. _Fuck that_, his animal growled as he closed the closet doors, _I think five years on an ice heap entitles me to a peek into the life of the girl I was there trying to protect…._

_Yeah that's right asshole, you justify it. Just like you justified leaving her here._

_To keep her safe._

_From who?You?_

_Shut up._

He was pulled away from his argument with himself as the "Commence Takeoff" light flashed on the control panel. He threw the duffel bag into his cabin and strapped himself into the pilot's chair.

"Control Tower Omega," he spoke into the com-unit, "this is Captain Darius Frye, requesting permission for takeoff from hangar ODS32."

He grinned when he heard Deirdre's obviously pissed voice answer. "Well good evening Captain Frye, leaving so soon?"

"Good evening Deirdre," he sneered right back, "requesting permission…"

"I'm sorry Captain," she said sweetly, not sounding sorry at all, "but there's been trouble locating your ships I.D. number," she sighed into the unit feigning distress, "I'm going to have to ask you power down your ship. Station security should be arriving soon to escort you to Tower control, please have your ship identification and carg…"

He looked out of the cockpit to see armed security making their way towards him. Fuck. "Look," he snapped into the intercom, "I'm requesting clearance. Fuck that I'm _telling_ you to clear the damn lanes."

"Captain Frye, I don't think you understand the rules," she sneered, scorn dripping from every syllable. _This bitch does NOT know who she is fucking with._

"No, I don't think _you_ understand Deirdre," he said slowly as if explaining it to a slow child, "I'm initiating takeoff in less than one minute, so if you don't clear the lanes, and I mean fucking _now_, you're risking having a head-on collision on your hands, and I don't think your boss would like that very much. So listen to me very carefully, little girl, because I don't like having to repeat myself. Clear the lanes…Now!!"

He then pressed the exterior intercom and shouted into it for the guards outside to hear, "Initiating takeoff now, if you don't want to get blown-the-fuck-up, I would suggest moving away from my ship immediately." And with that he pushed the throttle to the max and roared off into the atmosphere. He had to dodge a large transport vessel, but once in the clear, he punched in Sona's coordinates, set auto-pilot and went to get some rest. Collapsing onto the cot he kicked off his heavy combat boots and was asleep before they hit the cabin floor

* * *

_He had been walking home from the security job Imam had secured for him at a small shipping yard, when he first felt their eyes on him. He knew this day was coming. He had been feeling it for weeks. It was just a matter of time. **(Sorry kid).** Ducking into an alley and pressing himself up underneath a fiberglass overhanging from one of the shop doors, he slipped the contacts from his eyes, giving him the advantage of sight over the mercs who were coming for him**.(The creed is greed).** He felt an unfamiliar stab of panic which he knew came from the fact that he was just five blocks away from the house where Jack was.He pushed those thought away however, when his beast snarled at him for being so damn to three he inhaled deeply, slowing his heart rate. A cold smile crept across his face as he felt the familiar hum start in the back of his head and work its way down. **(Damn, it's been too long).** Slipping his favorite shiv out from behind his back, he rolled his neck relaxing his muscles. It was time._

_One. **(Boots**** on gravel.****One man in the mouth of the alley.****Twenty feet away, approaching).**_

_Two. **(Footsteps** **above.****One man on the roof of the building).**_

_Three. **(An**** electronic ****hum ****…sound**** like a gauge. ****Now).**_

_The animal ripped its way up to the surface, swinging out his arm he grabbed the merc who'd followed him down the alley **(Idiot).** Ripping the gauge out of his hands and throwing it down the alley, he twisted the man's arm up behind his back, smiling, when he heard the familiar sound of cracking bones. The merc screamed. **(Shut ****him up)**. Riddick jammed his fingers into the hollow of the man's throat; the screams were replaced with wet choking sounds as the merc collapsed onto the ground clutching at his throat. Still standing underneath the fiberglass overhanging he glanced up as the shadow of another fell across the alley._

_**(That's right…one on the roof).** Riddick knelt and grabbed the ankle of the man who had fallen in front of him, dragging him slowly closer.The man's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen, he began to struggle. Riddick smiled again and tightened his grip until he heard another satisfying crack. The mans eyes rolled back into his head with pain.He gave one last feeble attempt to escape before the razor sharp edge of Riddick's shiv sliced across his throat sending a crimson arch sailing through the air. **(Beautiful)** A loud cracking sound from above made Riddick duck and spin around, shiv out. He almost laughed when he saw a foot then leg come crashing through the fiberglass awning._

_Standing up he watched as the momentum of the fall caused the upper half of the mercs body to swing forward. He walked up to the man who was now hanging upside-down from the awning fumbling for his gun, and stood in front of him reveling in the stench of fear that permeated the air around the man. Riddick tapped his shiv on the underside of the man's chin noticing the crusty dried spit collecting in the corners of the man's mouth. **(Disgusting).** When the heavy stench of urine assaulted his nostrils Riddick decided that he'd had enough of the pig and driven his blade clear through the man's jaw, burying it to the hilt. He was wiping the blood from his knife on the hanging mans shirt when searing hot pain shot through his shoulder almost flooring him. **(Fuck. Another merc).** He had been sloppy. Ducking behind a dumpster he shielded his eyes as bullets ricocheted off the walls spitting brick dust. Silence fell over the alley. One footstep.Then another. Riddick flew from behind the dumpster tackling the assailant to the ground only to have the man roll from underneath him a slash at his chest with a knife that had been attached to the back of the gauge. Fire burned up his stomach and it was only surpassed by the agony that shot through his head when the merc turned on an exceptionally strong UV flashlight and pointed it straight into Riddick's eyes. He swung out blindly, growling when his hand connected with the side of a throat. He wrapped his hand around the throat, pushing his thumb into the hollow, he held on for dear life. The merc began stabbing blindly at Riddick's chest and arms; struggling to get free as the air was continuously squeezed from his throat. When Riddick sensed the man was weakened he reared up drawing back his free hand he punched him in the neck, snapping it. He had continued punching him until a voice shouted down the alley. After that he had run. _

_When he arrived home the first thing he had done was shower until the water was cold, bandaging his shoulder and chest. And then he had stood in the doorway of Jack's room and watched for hours as she slept. She was sprawled out across the bed, feet wrapped in the blankets and arms flung out, snoring softly. He walked up to her and brushed the hair out of her face. As she began stirring he wrapped his hands softly around her neck and began to squeeze. She woke with a start and began struggling with him, fingernails clawing into his skin, he squeezed tighter smiling softly. As she spluttered, turning blue with tears running down her face he leaned down and kissed her mouth softly, before sinking his teeth into the soft skin in her neck and ripping out her throat. _

* * *

_"JACK!"_

Riddick shot up in his cot, shiv held out defensively in front of him. His heart was hammering in his chest, he was gasping for breath, his sheets were soaked in sweat. _WHAT THE **FUCK** WAS THAT_?

He remembered that night. The mercs. It was the night he knew he had to move on. That had happened. But hurting Jack? No fucking way. In fact, that night he had lain down to sleep next to her bed to make sure that nothing would happen to her; and when she had awoke in the middle of the night telling him to 'just get in the damn bed Riddick because you'll get a stiff neck from laying on the floor', he had done it, pulling her close to him apologizing silently because he knew he was going to have to break that promise. _Sorry kid, really_.

Pulling his shirt back on Riddick made his way to the small galley and make himself a strong pot of coffee. Silently draining his cup, he wondered just what the hell he was going to do until he arrived in Sona, because sleeping was definitely out of the question. _It's gonna be a long two days_, he thought refilling his cup with coffee, _a **long** two days._


	4. Promises and Candy Apples

"Hi, Imam," Jack smiled into her portable com-unit, "sorry I haven't been in touch for a while…it's been kinda hectic these past few weeks. We've recovered a lot of merchandise. I just wanted to let you know that I'm alright," she paused, smile wavering, "I-I miss you guys. Maybe…maybe I'll see you again sometime soon." She could feel the burning in her nose as tears prickled in her eyes. _Damn it I will __**not**__ cry! _"Tell," her voice cracked, "tell Lajjun I said hello. And kiss Ziza for me, okay? Bye."

Pressing the send button she tossed the com-unit onto the floor and reclined onto the unyielding bed. _Damn this uncomfortable bed.__What am I going to do know? __Club hunt?__ No…too tired from last night. Hmm… wonder what's on the __vid__ screen.__ Nothing…shit._

In the end she decided to just take a shower and sleep until she was ready to get back into the clubs.

Stepping under the boiling spray she lathered and rinsed before lowering herself down into the corner of the bathtub she pulled her knees up against her chest and let the water spray into her face. She reached out and turned the water temperature up wincing as it scalded her skin but loving the way it made her feel clean, new, unused. She needed that the most.

Six months after signing on with Davis and his crew as an assistant engineer, Jack had found herself in Davis's bed, listening to him grunt and pant above her. He hadn't forced himself on her, not exactly, but he made it more than clear he wanted her. And since he was captain of the ship, he always got what he wanted. At the time she had reasoned that she was just doing what was necessary to maintain her position on board; but as the months went by she had to admit, she had grown to like him. Despite the ruthlessness he displayed to the felons they captured, he was for the most part kind to her, allowing her small luxuries. This was of course on condition that she shared his bed and his bed only.

It was worth it. All of it was worth it because she was now all that much closer to finding Riddick. He had left a gaping void in her life the day he had left her standing on the tarmac, crying into Imam's robe. He had abandoned her, he had promised that he'd be there and then turned around and left her. She was determined to find him. For what, she didn't know. All she knew is that since the day he had left she had never felt the same, nothing interested her; no one kept her safe at night. So as soon as she turned 18 she left everything she had come to know, to find him. To make him know that she hated him for leaving, to hurt him as bad as he had hurt her. And if that meant that she had to lie underneath Davis to maintain her place on a ship that could possibly track him down, then so be it. _Shit, could've been worse._

_**Flashback **_

_They had stayed in a small isolated cabin about twenty miles from the bustling city of New Mecca, waiting for the publicity of the crash to die down. __Regardless of the fact that Imam had reported him as dead; __Riddick after all was still the__ most wanted man in the galaxy. Consequently, news of his 'death' caused __uproar__ in media coverage. Everyday his name was in the papers, everyday his face was on the news. All of the __report__er__s were exactly the same. T__hey announced his death with smiles plastered on their faces. Jack was half-expecting to switch the channel and see some news broad wearing a party hat, throwing confetti into the air while joyously repeating the news of the death of the infamous Richard B. Riddick. Riddick the murderer, the convict, the psychopath, the rapist. __Riddick who had never done a decent thing in his entire miserable existence.__**Bullshit.**_

_They would never know that every night he __lifted__ the blankets up for her, without complaining, so she could crawl in next to him after she had a nightmare about __the planet, which he had affectionately nicknamed '__ the dark side__ of Satan's asshole', (__even Imam had nodded __grimly at that particular epithet)__. That's right, the so-called psychopathic murdering rapist, kneaded the tension out of her back every night un__til she fell asleep. He made__ chocolate chip pancakes__ with her__ every Saturday morning__; and he didn't even complain when she picked the chips out of the batter__, he taught her how to meditate, __how to hide her emotions, to make a decent shiv, he taught her __how to survive. Shit he even taught her how to play 'Black Jack'. They would never know__ they would never __**want**__ to fucking know, because it was easier to just see what the __government__ said they should see. And it broke her heart._

_One night Jack had been particularly upset about the repetitive news casts and __had stormed into Riddick's room almost knocking him off the __beam __he had __used for pull-up's. __He __had __dropped__ down in front of her, shirtless, sweating a little, __right eyebrow lifted._

_H__er eyes had bugged a little bit__ at the sight of his perfectly muscled abdomen.__ She had seen him shirtless before, hundreds of times, when they sparred and wh__en he slept; but she had been prepared for that... this time she had been caught off guard. __She knew she was __blushing __and__ she hated it. She hated more that he noticed, and she absolutely detested the smirk that pushed itself onto his face. __Cocky bastard._

_"__Tryna__' kill me now Jackie," he teased,__ her mouth went dry as he ran__ his hand down his perfectly cut stomach, "you're gonna have to do better than that." He noticed that her eyes were glued to where his hand was resting above the waistband of the sweats he wore. Suppressing the urge to laugh he clicked his fingers to get her attention and watched as her eyes guiltily snapped back up to his face. _

_"Sorry," __She__ mumbled, sitting down on__ his bed, she picked up his blac__k tank and began twisting it through her fingers, __looking everywhere but at him. _

_"__S'there__ a problem?"_

_"No," she lied, like she could ever lie to __him__, "why?" _

_His __brow rose higher as he pointed at the tank that she was __now __yanking across her fingers. _

_" 'C__ause__ you're stretching the shit __outta__ my shirt, kid."_

_She dropped it on the floor and flew up off the bed whirling around to face him. She planted her hands on her hips, which made Riddick smirk even wider. He stopped smiling however when he saw the tears brimming in her eyes. _

_"Kid, what the fuck?"__ It was his way of asking what was wrong. She understood._

_"R-Riddick," she stuttered, she took a deep breath, she hated herself for crying in front of him, "do you __**hear**__ the shit the__y-they say about you on the __TV," she __demanded__. "It's bullshit, those motherfuckers__…they…Riddick, they said__…" she started to yell._

_"Kid, your language," he interrupted, leaning back against the wall and lacing his fingers together behind his head, letting his eyes fall shut. _

_"What the fuck about it," she challenged. _

_"Watch it." He growled. "Or what," she pushed, she was angry and she wanted someone to acknowledge it. _

_His eyes snapped open and he pinned her with his intense silver gaze. Slowly he cracked his knuckles, watching her the whole time, "You really __wanna__ find out, little girl?"_

_She held his gaze for a moment challenging him, but as he started to rise she flopped down to sit crossed legged on the floor. He stayed sitting half way up until she flashed him a watery smile and she heard a deep grumble that could've been mistaken for laughter as he relaxed back against the wall closing his eyes once more. They were silent for a long while until she broke the silence. "Riddick, __**do**__ you hear what they say about you on the TV?"_

_"Yeah, kid, I hear '__em__", he answered, he didn't sound upset in the least. Jack was appalled. "Doesn't it piss you off," she asked. _

_"Why would it?"_

_"Because they're calling you a killer, an animal," she said looking at him. He chuckled. _

_"But I __**have **__killed people__, kid, you know that." _

_"But…"she started, she knew he had killed men, but he only did what he needed to survive. "And __I__ **can** be an animal__, Jack." _

_"Yeah Riddick I know that, that's fine…that's whatever…but…,"she hesitated._

_"But what?__"_

_"B__ut… they're saying that yo__u__..uh..__you__ know…erm…__."_

_"Spit it out, kid."_

_"They're saying that you've raped women." She couldn't believe she'd actually said those words to him._

_"And?__"__ He shrugged._

_**WHAT?! **_

_"What do you mean 'what'…Riddick? You're…they're lying right…I mean y-you're not, right? You're not…" __**they're lying, oh god tell me they're lying…**_

_Riddick slowly opened his eyes. He was silent, so silent Jack could hear her heart breaking. He leaned all the way forward to place his forearms on his knees, never breaking eye contact with her, cocking his head to the side. She shook uncontrollably, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides, "R-Riddick…Riddick please…,"she begged without say__ing__ it __**please **__**please**__** say 'no'**_

_He slowly stretched his hand out to her and she flinched. His jaw tightened and his brow furrowed but his hand remained outstretched. Her eyes met his, pleading. _

_"Riddick," she whimpered. _

_"Jack," he said softly, "you know I'm not." She sobbed grabbing his hand tight, relief sweeter than anything she'd ever experienced._

_"You know I'm not, kid," he sighed as he pulled her into his arms holding her tight against his chest as his hand rubbed firm circles on the back of her neck. She curled up into__ a ball on his lap and he held o__nto her still as he reclined back against the wall once more. _

_"You scared me Riddick," she whimpered, no longer caring if he knew or not. He was silent for a long time. "I'm sorry, kid," he rumbled. She nodded against his chest. "Jack look at me"._

_She shook her head. "Look at me __Jack__," he said soft but firm. She raised her head slowly and looked straight into his __penetrating mercurial stare__. "I'm sorry, okay?"_

_What **was** this? Richard B. Riddick, apologizing? Apologizing to some little girl...for **scaring** her? He was Richard B. fucking Riddick. The Big Bad, the Big Evil. He was **supposed **to be scary, shit! But here he was; sitting in this room with a scared girl in his arms apologizing, nonetheless. And it didn't seem to bother him at all. _

_"Okay," she nodded; inhaling deep she gave him her bravest smile. _

_They sat together in silence for a long time; his competent fingers digging into her back was starting to make her sleepy. She mumbled something, on the verge of sleep. "What was that, kid?"_

_She yawned, "I said I'm glad you're not, because I couldn't do it again."_

_That woke Riddick right the fuck up, his grip on Jack tightened until she was squirming. "What do you mean 'again'Jack?!"_

_He shook her awake, "What the fuck do you mean 'again'?"_

_She suddenly looked very nervous. Riddick didn't like a nervous Jack. Jack was damn near fearless; a nervous Jack meant shit was bad… real bad. He tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. She looked at him tears streaming down her face, expecting to see disgust and pity. Instead she saw dawning comprehension, quickly replaced by unchecked anger._

_"Know his name?" He bit out the question_

_She had been so startled by his tone that she had just blurted it out, "Bernard Kaufmann," she swallowed hard fighting back the bile rising in her throat, "my uncle."_

_"What planet?"_

_She didn't like the way this was going, "Riddick, I-I don't…"_

_"**What planet**, Jack?" His tone was impatient._

_"Suberius... small mining planet."_

_There was a long silence as Riddick seemed to plot the course in his head. _

_"Riddick," she whispered hanging her head, "does it make me bad?"_

**_"What?"_**

_"Does it-what he did to me...he…does it make me bad? Because I couldn't stop him?" She glanced up, Riddick wasn't even looking at her, he seemed to be a million miles away…it scared her a little bit. She almost jumped when he wrapped his arms around her tighter, forcing her to look away from his face. She could hear him clenching and unclenching his jaw. The sound of his teeth grinding together made her worried that he was going to break them!He buried his face into her short curly hair and inhaled_

_"Riddick?"_

_"No, kid," the rumbling answer came from deep in his chest._

She didn't know it but he loved the way she smelled of shampoo and those damn candy apples she kept having Imam bring home for her. She also didn't know that her burying her head into the crook of his neck had quieted the beast within him, calming the bullets of rage that had been ricocheting around inside of his chest.

_"It doesn't make you bad. Don't you ever fucking think that, Jack, you hear me?"_

_"Yes." She sighed relaxing into his arms further._

_"Good. Because you're not bad, Jack…you may be an annoying little brat sometimes…" he smiled as she swatted playfully at his shoulder, "but it doesn't make you a bad person…" he had whispered the next words into her ear, "but it **does** make your uncle one dead motherfucker, understand?" She knew he had meant it, but the shiver that ran up her spine from his whispering in her ear had nothing to do with fear. But he didn't need to know that. _

_"You okay, Jack," he asked, stretching out on the bed and pulling her down to rest on his arm. _

_"Yes," she replied, sleepy from the emotional strain, "I'm alright now. I have you now, right?" Her heart stopped as she waited for his answer._

_"Yeah, kid," he whispered into her head of curls, "you've got me now."_

_"You promise," she whispered into his arm. "Yeah, Jack, yeah I promise."_

**_End flashback_**

Jack let herself be pulled back into the present.

Tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the water which was becoming increasingly cold. You promised she silently cursed him, you promised me, you bastard. And I **believed **you.

"You told me that I had you", she cried into her knees, "and then you left me, you left me and never looked back."

She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. And when the water had finally lost all of its warmth, she crawled into her pajamas and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.


	5. Make That A Double

**( A/N: To those of who have reviewed so far, muchos gracias, it makes the 'carpal tunnel' worth it! I'm trying to keep the story regulary updated so bear with me!)**

* * *

After a particularly memorable incident involving a combative convict and a drunken, now deceased, crewmate Davis had implemented a zero tolerance drinking rule on the ship, much to Jack's dismay. She was determined to make up for it that night. In fact, over the past half hour she had enjoyed spending time with her two best buddies Jack Daniels and Jose Cuervo. The phrase 'make that a double' had left her mouth so many times that night that the bartender had finally just sat the bottles in front of her and charged them both to her account. She slammed her shot glass back down onto the bar, _that's enough for one night…still have to make it back to the ship in the morning._ The vibration of the bass worked up trough her body, calling her to the dance floor, _my last night __of freedom, might as well live it up._ She wanted to lose herself and in this crowd of bodies mashing and grinding against each other, she knew that it wouldn't be a problem. 

She had even been making some eye contact with some 'tall-dark-and-handsome' guy sitting further down the bar from her. Sure, he was wearing a mesh shirt, and had been staring at her like she was a pork chop and he a starving man, but… he would do. She sashayed past him, almost giggling as he whipped his head around to follow her movements. She shuddered as she thought of what Davis would do if he could see her right now. He had made it clear to her that he didn't share…ever. Pursing her lips she forced thoughts of Davis from her mind, _he's never gonna know._ She knew that the man had followed her onto the dance floor without even turning around. Elbowing her way into the center of the crowd she stiffened as she felt his hand on her waist but relaxed as he leaned forward and whispered huskily into her ear, "My name's Alex."

"It doesn't matter," she whispered back beginning to move her hips in time with the music. And it didn't. She was so lost in the movement of his body and the bodies around her that she was able to shake of the eerie feeling they she was being watched. Tilting her head back, she scanned the upper floor of the club; a shining pair of liquid silver orbs jerked her attention to a table situated right in front of the railing. She felt her heart skip a beat as she shook her head, trying to peer harder into the darkness above. The eyes were gone. _God_, she thought mentally kicking herself, _I__ really__ AM__ losing it_.

* * *

Riddick chided himself on his carelessness as he pulled his goggles back down to cover his eyes. She had almost seen him. Nursing his beer, he continued to watch Jack slither up and down some guy on the dance floor. _What's this __idiot__ wearing_; he scoffed to himself, _a mesh shirt? Jesus…some taste you got there Jackie girl. And could you possibly be dancing any closer, shit…_ He chalked up the tightening in his chest to anger…because the only other option, well…wasn't an option at all. Because Richard B. Riddick didn't get jealous. Especially over some broad. 

_But she'__s not just some __broad__ is she_? The beast snickered evilly from deep inside.

_No, she's Jack,_ he answered truthfully.

_And what does that__ mean, exactly, Dickey boy, hmm, _it whispered back.

_It means she's like my goddamn little sister, so just **shut the fuck up,** _he snapped angrilyThe beast's only response was a contemptuous snort of laughter.

He continued his mockery of Jack's dancing partner in his mind. He had just about lost his patience with watching her wiggle against the guy, and was considering just walking up behind the asshole and opening up some arteries, when she turned and licked the man's neck, _What the fuck was __**that**, _before pulling him off the dance floor, headed straight for the exit._ And where the __hell__ do you think you're going little girl? _

Something told him that he didn't want to know the answer. He threw down some credit chips and pushed back from the table following her out into the alley she was heading down.

Riddick was a predator, no doubt about it. He moved quickly and silently, eyes never leaving the couple in front of him; he was aware of every noise, every movement from the street. He was in his element…hell; he was beginning to enjoy himself, well, except for the annoying fact that Jack was currently hanging all over some idiot who Riddick had the strangest urge to strangle. His hands were literally itching to wrap themselves around the man's neck, or even better, Jack's. He wanted to shake the shit out of her; she was disregarding everything he'd ever taught her. _Just w__hat the fuck __do you think you're__ doing, _he growled to himself_, walking down an empty alley, at night__, with some motherfucker__ you don't know, _he stopped then, listening to her unusually loud and abrasive laughter echoing off the buildings around them , _and you're D__RUNK. Sloppy, kid, real sloppy._

* * *

Jacks head was swimming as they teetered up the stairs towards her hotel room. She knew she was leaning almost entirely on, what was his name again, oh yeah...Alex. She felt his hand slide up her arm. She shivered, but not in a good way. Drunk as she was, she wasn't sure she wanted to take it this far. As they cleared the landing his touches became more persistent and Jack found herself being backed up against her own door, hands resting lightly on his chest, not quite pushing. 

His knee snaked its way between her legs and she stiffened. No, this wasn't what she wanted. She pushed lightly against his chest, "Hey, look man…I don' think…" she fought down the urge to panic when he knocked her hands away and began kissing his way across her jaw and down her neck. "Hey! Godammit I said no… get off me..." She pushed him again, lifting her body off the door before his chest slammed her back down into it mumbling, "Shh, don't be such a fucking tease."

She panicked. Squirming against him for room she tensed up and slammed her knee into his crotch, delighting in the sound of his pain filled grunt. "Fuck," he gasped curling over, "you stupid bitch." She grabbed for her shiv, her movements were sloppy and uncontrolled. _I'm fucking drunk_, she screamed at herself feeling sick panic rise up her throat, _I'm not in control anymo_…

Her thoughts were cut short as Alex's fist slammed into her jaw; she saw little red dots as her head smashed back into door. She swung out at him, disoriented from the blow; he landed a punch to her kidney and as she doubled over he grabbed her hair and yanked her back up into standing position, slamming her up against the door. She cried out in pain as the knob dug into the sensitive flesh of her lower back before his hand connected with her lips. She tasted blood.

He grabbed her wrists in one hand and painfully wrenched them up against the door. "That was a cheap shot baby," he sneered pulling her wrists up higher, "you flirt all night, then turn into a cold fish? I don't fucking think so, you little whore." She spat at him and he laughed.

He was so much bigger than she was, shit, he was sober too. Her struggling was doing nothing more than exciting him. He leaned in and kissed her lips, bruising them, biting them. She choked back a scream as his other hand raked down her chest tearing the thin material of her shirt, painfully kneading her breast. She watched as the buttons fell to the ground, as if in slow motion. The sounds of people in the streets, dogs barking, the transit rail rambling by; everything seemed so far away. The steady thumping of the bass streaming from a nearby club drowned out all other sounds. She was sliding out of consciousness; her lungs screamed for air, but his hand gripping her neck only tightened. She couldn't fight it. Her body just said 'no'.

She jerked when hot liquid sprayed across her face. Snapping her head up, she watched as Alex's eyes widened and then rolled back into his head. She watched as the tip of the shiv which was protruding above his Adam's apple slid smoothly back out, and blood rushed down his throat staining his skin through his tight mesh shirt. His knees buckled and he slumped down spluttering and grasping at her skirt, his blood left a bloody trail across her chest and stomach. Her eyes were glued to the top of his head which was resting on her thigh when the the sound of metal sliding against leather made her raise her head.

Silhouetted against the dim flickering light of the hallway, hand still grasping the handle of a now sheathed shiv, stood a large hooded man; even with the cloak covering his face he exuded an air of menace… danger. She opened her mouth to scream. For who? She didn't know, didn't give a shit. It just seemed appropriate at the time. Nothing came out.

She watched, mesmerized as he reached up and grasped the side of his hood. _What the fuck is this__, s_he wondered as an unpleasant tingle of recognition ran through her body. All her thoughts stopped, however, the second he pulled back his hood. She blanched; eyes bugging out of her head.

The shaved head, with aviator goggles perched on top.

_Oh. __M__y__. G__od. _

The full, smirking lips.

_Oh fuck, oh__-__my__-__god__ oh__-__my__-__god._

The pools of liquid silver, shining at her from underneath two arched brows.

_Motherfu…_

"Riddick."

An amused smirk was the last thing she saw before she slumped over the dying man kneeling at her feet and cracked her head on the ground. Lights out.

* * *

"You thon oba bitch," the woman screamed around the bit in her mouth, "you can't do dis, I'm a fwee woman, I habba fam..." she was cut off as a stun gun was shoved into her neck, knocking her out. 

The small warehouse was filled with the sound of sobbing, pleas, and cries of the four other people lying bound and gagged on the floor.

"Ten thousand creds apiece," Davis said, kicking the now unconscious woman, "fifteen for her, the bitch bit me."

"Four thousand each. Any of these people actually wanted for anything," the man holding the stun gun asked, "I don't want any of your collegues trying to collect a bounty on my new merchandise."

Gerod and Riley stood behind Davis, hands on their gauges, eyes wide open…they hated doing exchanges; slave traders were sketchy people, you never knew which ones were trying to step you up, pull some tricky shit.

"No," Davis answered, "no convicts. Crew on a shipping vessel…and they're ten thousand a piece."

"Five thousand."

"Not a chance," Davis laughed, "ten thousand and not a fucking cred less."

"Six," the man asked hopefully. Davis remained silent. "Fine…eight for all, no more…they're not worth it."

"Deal." Davis threw the chains at the feet of the man and handed him two cred chips, "put thirty on one and ten on the other. No bullshit either, I want all forty thou' now."

The warehouse door slammed shut behind the three men as they hurried back to the hoverjet. Smiling he fingered the two credit chips in his pocket. _Forty tho__usand, not bad for a days'__ work, _he smiled wider, _that plus the fifty we got from the "stolen merchandise" that we "returned" to the __Counsel__. Sh__ee__it. _He almost laughed as he remembered the fifty thousand credits that were going to be split between him, Gerod and Riley alone.

Unbeknownst to Jack, Farris and Sieves, their crew wasn't retuning stolen merchandise to the Counsel, which acted as the universal government, at all; they were raiding legitimate shipping vessels and capturing innocent crew members who they mistook as smugglers…and Davis was pawning off the merchandise to smugglers on the planets they docked on. He couldn't help but laugh as he thought of how many people Jack had killed under the conviction that they were unruly criminals instead of scared passengers. She was so naïve, so trusting.

Thinking of Jack sent a shiver of anticipation up his spine. Exchanges always left him high-strung, pumped up…he knew exactly who he could work that tension out on, and he couldn't wait to return to the ship, _where she's probably sleeping soundly …__naked__ in my bed__, her cut of the "bounty"__ should make her especially…compliant._As the stirring in his groin intensified, Davis shifted concentration back to maintaining control of the hoverjet, _almost home_.

* * *

**(A/N: Due to my disgustingly obsessive nature and my committment to this story I have totally ignored my coursework for about oh, lets see...the past two **

**weeks or so. Considering midterms are rapidly approaching...I may actually have to attempt attending a lecture or two (sighs )...therefore...there will **

**probably ****be no updates for at least three weeks! As much as it sucks, I have to forbid myself from posting because somehow I don't think my parents will be**

** too ****thrilled if I flunked out of college b/c I couldn't stop writing about some fictional charaters. Hehe... I can just imagine my dad's reaction to my **

**pleading/ whining _..."But Dad...it's RIDDICK!". _Pray for me...I might not make it LOL.)**


	6. A Rude Awakening

Riddick stood there bewildered. _W__hat the __hell was __**that**_?

Of course, he had expected Jack to be more than a little surprised to see him. Hell, he'd expected for her to take a shot at him, or at least verbally tear him a new one. But to have her just crumple to the ground shocked the shit out of Riddick. Shrugging he decided to move their little party out of the hallway and into the room. Hauling Jack up from her dead faint without pressing her almost bare chest against his proved to be quite a feat. In the end Riddick decided to just lay her out flat and search for her room keys.

When he had pulled both Jack and the dead man into the room he walked back into the hallway and wrapping the end of his cloak around his fist, punched out the hall light so the blood spatter on the wall wouldn't be as noticeable to passersby's. _At least until morning_, he thought closing the door behind him, _but we'll be long gone by then_. He not-so-gently tossed Jack onto the bed (she had signed up with mercs after all) and began cramming her belongings back into her bag.

Carrying Jack, as small as she was, back to the shipping yard, was out of the question. Even in a shithole like downtown Vero's, someone would notice that. He didn't need that kind of attention. So he grabbed the cup off of her bedside table and filled it to the brim with ice cold water from the bathroom sink. He sat down beside her on the bed and leaned over to look in her face. Brushing the hair away from her forehead, he frowned at the electric sparks that shot up his arm from this little bit of contact._ Get a hold of yoursel__f_.

She still had those thick curly lashes and pouty lips that had given her away as a girl more than six years ago on T-2. She still smelled faintly like candy apples. She _was_ beautiful; he had to give her that. Even with a knot starting to rise where her head had connected with the floor, and blood spattered on her neck, she was beautiful. She still calmed the beast. She made him feel. _She's runnin' __with mercs. _And with that he sat back and dumped the water on her face.

She shot up on the bed spluttering and swinging. He deftly caught her fist before it connected with his face and pushed her back down onto the mattress only to have her spring up, whipping a shiv out from underneath the pillow. He stood slowly, towering in front of her; the shiv slipped from her fingers.

"Can't be dropping your weapons like that, kid," he said, pointing at the blade without breaking eye contact, "it'll get you killed."

She jumped at the sound of his voice; it was still gravelly and deep like he barely spoke. It still made her heart jerk around inside her chest. She forced herself to speak. "Are you here to kill me, Riddick?" _Geez, why is my voice so shak__y__? Why is my fucking heart beating so fast? Cool it, Jack, take it easy._

He looked back at her, deadpan neatly in place. "Depends, Jack," he said, watching the emotion flit across her face, _she needs to learn how to control that,_ he thought, "how bad you've fucked up since I've been gone?"

"What are you talking about," she asked, cursing her traitorous body for responding so much to the sound of his voice.

"Heard you signed with some mercs, Jack," he replied letting annoyance filter into his voice, "heard you took off to come find me." Silence. "Well, here I am. Happy?"

More silence. "Jack, I'm talking to you."

"No, Riddick, I'm not happy," she said looking down at Alex's blood spattered body. Funny, it didn't faze her in the least.

"Are you sure," he asked sarcastically motioning to the body at her feet, "cause you looked pretty fucking happy grinding your ass on him back at the club." She grimaced. So it _was _him.

"No, I haven't been happy for a long time Riddick," she said turning her eyes back to him, she took a step forward, "but you know what would make me happy?"

He smirked at her, crossing his arms over his massive chest, "No, princess," he laughed sarcasm dripping from every word, "why don't you tell…"

_**SMACK, **_the sound of Jack's open hand connecting with the side of Riddick's face echoed in the small dark room. But before she had a chance to pull her hand back to land a solid punch she found herself face down on the carpet with Riddick's knee in her back and her wrists in his hand.

"I wouldn't push you luck," he growled into her ear, "if I were you."

"Fuck you, Riddick," she spat struggling, "you're _not _me." He remained silent. "Get the fuck off of me Riddick, you bastard." More silence. "You cowardly sonofab…OW…" she cried as he pushed his knee deeper into her back.

"You kiss your mother with that mouth, kid?"

"No, but you should ask my boyfriend; he'll tell you exactly what I d…OWWW," she bellowed as he wrenched her wrists up painfully above her back, "Riddick what the _**fuck**?!"_

"Watch your mouth little girl."

She saw red. _How dare he_ , she screamed in her head, _after all these years, just show up and start telling me what to do, fuck that._ She bucked against the floor, trying to throw him off. Pointless. "You don't get to tell me what to do anymore, Riddick," she said coldly, "you gave up that right when you left me… no abandoned me, in New Mecca." He sighed. He was really starting to get tired of this crap. They needed to get off of this rock, and soon.

She continued to rant, "You promised me," she yelled into the carpet, "you fucking promised, and then you run off, like the gutless coward you…"

"SHUT UP," he yelled yanking her wrists further behind her back, "I left you in New Mecca to keep your ass safe," he stood abruptly and swiped the bedside lamp of its table, "I told you to stay in New Mecca for a reason, godammit. Why did you not listen? I have mercs on my neck; I'll always have mercs on my neck…I spent five fucking years on a piece of shit planet, hiding in some goddamn caves to keep your ungrateful ass safe!"

He let all the emotion leave his face, "And for what? For you to run off with the same fake badges that wanted to cut you up and use you as b…".

"You left me Riddick," she bit out, picking herself up off the floor, body still tingling from having his pressed so close to hers (_Jesus, Jack...the man pins you to the floor and you start getting off on it, get your head together for gods sake_)…"you left me, and you knew I needed you." She turned her back on him, refusing to let her pain show. She just wanted him to hold her again, but she would die before she told him that. "Just tell me why you took off without talking to me about it first, Riddick, you owe me tha…"

"I don't owe you shit," he said, "except a swift kick in the ass for being so goddamn stupid. I left you there because it was what was best for you at the time. I don't have to explain myself to you, Jack, and I don't owe you, or anyone else, a motherfucking thing. Clear?"

"Crystal."

"Perfect," he motioned to her belongings on the bed, "now get your shit together, I'm taking you back to New Mecca."

"No, Riddick," she snapped folding her arms across her chest, which Riddick noticed, was still mostly bare.

"Excuse me," he took a menacing step towards her.

"I said 'no', godammit. I've established a life for myself. I've worked hard to get in with a crew and I'm making good money; Imam will understand why I can't just walk away from my new life."

He barked out a laugh, "I don't really give a shit what Imam does and doesn't understand, that's not my problem," he took a step closer, she took a step back, "my problem is that you are connected to me," he felt pang of guilt at the hurt look that crossed her face, but continued on, "and it ain't going to be too long until one of those punks you jumped in with, realizes that." He stopped, letting the gravity of the situation sink in.

He was pleased when she lowered her head in shame;_ serves you right kid_, he thought, _you should've thought about that before_. "And as for this 'I-can't-just-walk-away' shit…I don't think you have much of a fucking choice," he threw her bag at her, "so grab your stuff and let's go. Now."

"I'm not a child, you asshole," she screamed, suddenly furious, "I'm almost 20 fucking years old!"

_Fuck him_, she thought,_ he doesn't own me! He can't tell me what to do!_

_Doesn't he Jackie girl? Can't he?_ A voice laughed in the back of her mind.

"Yeah, well I got ten years on your ass," he snapped back he was starting to lose his patience, he hadn't planned on this taking all night, ", which means I'm running the fucking show. Now I'm not going to repeat myself again Jacqueline," he said, delighting in the way her eyes flashed angrily, yeah she was beautiful. He felt his pants tighten and was suddenly glad that only he could see in the dark.

_Little sister, Jack, kid in goggles; little sister, Jack, kid in gog…_

_We don't have **time** for this,_ his conscious nagged; _let's get this show on the road._

_Yeah, yeah,_ the animal drawled back, _blow me_. The animal in him was content watching the flush creep across her face when she realized he was watching her. The animal wanted to reach out and brush that stray hair out of her eyes, to kiss her and find out if she tasted like candy and apples too. It wanted to claim her as its mate, to bend her over…

"I'm ready," her voice interrupted his thoughts; she was standing there with her bag in her hand. He mentally shook himself, trying to rid his mind of the images that had started to form. The animal laughed smugly.

Good," he grunted, looking at everything but her, "let's go." He was moving towards the door when her hand on his shoulder stopped him. Turning he raised his eyebrow, looking at her dead in the eye. "Problem?"

"No," she said smiling a little, "no, but do you mind if I just wash this…stuff, off my face first?"

He continued staring silently at her so she shrugged and continued, "It's kinda gross."

He grunted once more before smirking, "Never figured you as squeamish Jack," he said, waiting for her to argue, she just shrugged again, "make it quick."

He sat down on the bed as she stepped over Alex's body and into the bathroom, "Leave the door open." She snapped her head around to face him.

"What am I Riddick," she spat, "your prisoner?"

"Just leave the goddamn door open Jack."

"No."

"Look…," he warned.

"NO!"

"It wasn't a fucking suggestion," he said raising his voice, "now hurry the fuck up before I change my mind."

"I have to use the bathroom, Riddick," she stated. "Then use it," he answered, running his hand over his face. Goddamn this girl was working his nerves. "Riddick!"

"Look, goddamn it, I don't know why you're pulling the 'modest girl' shit now, because you sure were sluttin it up with this asshole," he pointed his toe at Alex, "earlier tonight. Now you're starting to piss me the fuck off; so go take your piss and wash your face and let's GO!"

"Please…Riddick, I-I…," she whispered. He noticed how uncomfortable she looked. Damn it!

He nodded at her then, "Make it quick, kid…no bullshit, alright?"

She nodded back and closed the door behind her, he almost said something when he heard the lock slide into place but figured it would only lead to another argument, and he hadn't wanted to get off a planet this much since T-2. Listening to the sound of the faucet, he leaned forward cradling his head in his hands. What the fuck was he supposed to do with her now? Yeah, take her back to Imam. But was that it? The moment he had spotted her in that club he had been pulled to her. He had felt that same odd peace wash over him when he saw her smile. Richard B. Riddick was not a man who experienced peace very often. Being on the run was no piece of cake, but being on the run while worrying about the well being of another human being was damn near impossible. What was happening to him? Was he, Big Evil himself, going soft? Over some little wisp of a female? No fucking way. But why then, did his heart twist when he saw her tears? Why did the animal yearn to claim her? Not just as a female, but as his woman, as his mate. And why …why the fuck are you sitting here playing shrink when what you need to be doing is getting off the goddamn planet

His head jerked up as he was pulled from his thoughts by the animals snarl. It was time to go.

"Jack," he called. No answer.

"Jack," he called again, louder this time, not at all enjoying the annoying prickling sensation of his arm hairs standing up, "let's go." Still no answer. _Fuck_.

In two strides he had crossed the room and began rattling the door. Locked. "Jack!" _I swear to god kid, you better…_

**WHAM, **the door slammed back against the wall as his massive shoulder connected with it.

_Son of a BITCH_. The tiny bathroom was empty, and the glass pane from the little window above the toilet was now sitting in the sink, winking at Riddick as the overhead light reflected off of it. Riddick strode over to the window and looked out, anger spiking through him as he spotted the emergency escape ladder leading down into the dark alley below.

"JAAAAAACK," he bellowed out into the night before whipping around and heading for the door.

* * *

Three blocks away Jack doubled her pace, now flat out sprinting towards the shipping yard; _just six more blocks,_ she kept telling herself, _six more and you'll be safely back on the ship_. She had heard his roar from three blocks away; so she knew he had discovered her missing. She also knew that she now had a very, very angry Riddick on her hands 

_Forget that girl, she told herself,_ wincing at constant pounding in her head, _he left you, he gave you up and now he wants to come storming back into your life and start running it? Fuck that and fuck him. I've made a life for myself and I'm not going to let him waltz in and start treating me like a fucking child. Now he can see how it feels. How it feels to be left._

The whole time she ran, she was expecting at any second for his strong arms to reach down from a rooftop and swoop her up, or for his hands to grab her shoulder and pull her into an alley before kicking her ass. She was so paranoid that when she turned the corner and ran straight into a large well-muscled chest she automatically swung out trying to get away from Riddick. When a strong hand gripped her wrist she looked down to bite it only to see that it was covered in a black leather glove. _What the fuck?_ Riddick only wore gloves when working a punching bag, he sure as hell wasn't wearing any that night. She pulled back ready to defend herself against this stranger, and found her looking into a pair of familiar ice cold blue eyes. Both of which were narrowed in confusion, quickly turning into anger. _Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh…_

"Shit," she squeaked, "Davis…"


	7. An Explanation

The silent walk back to the docks was probably the most uncomfortable fifteen minutes of Jacks life. Davis was livid, the tick in his jaw was unnerving, his vice- like grip around her already bruised wrist was painful, but what actually scared Jack was his silence. It was a guarantee that whatever he was going to say to her needed to be said in the semi-privacy of the ship. Away from people. Away from witnesses. When she was alone. She could feel her heart beating rapidly and had to blink back the tears; forget the special treatment he sometimes showed her, forget their 'relationship'…_none of it matters_, she thought wincing as he dragged her through the perimeter fence, _I'm fucked. Oh god Farris, I'm sorry…_

Davis flung her in front of him as they approached the tarmac; she stumbled and almost fell but braced herself against the closed ramp of the _Ishtar._

"Lower the ramp," he demended.

Her finger fumbled on the code pad, after what seemed like hours she entered the code and stood aside as the ramp descended, eyes never leaving Davis who faced straight ahead. She stood stalk still waiting for him to move first.

"Go wait in my cabin," He whispered as he walked down the corridor to the cargo bay.

"D-Davis…,"she began haltingly.

"Go wait in the _fucking cabin_!"

She jumped at the volume of his voice and fighting the urge to run, began walking quickly to the room they shared.

* * *

Riddick watched from the roof of a nearby building as Jack was dragged into the ship. This wasn't part of the plan; they should've been off that planet hours ago. To say that he was irritated with Jack would be an understatement to say the least. In fact a not-so-small part of him was considering just leaving her there.

The idea of getting into his ship and taking off to some deserted mining planet, preferably a warm one…with bars, was growing increasingly enticing as he thought about the situation he was now in. It would be so easy to just leave…_except for the fact that sooner or later she's gonna get caught, which means I'm shit outta luck too, right?_ Damn. He knew he couldn't just leave her, even if he didn't feel some twisted sense of responsibility for her she was still….Jack.

He jumped onto the emergency escape ladder and held on as it rattled to the ground in the alley below. There was no way he was going to just barge onto the ship, guns blazing and carry her off, hell no, doing that would be like asking for a bullet it the ass, or better yet the head. These were mercs, he was a payday. Shit, he was THE payday. He swore to himself as he crept silently back to his own ship which, ironically enough, was docked about two hundred yards away from the one Jack had just been hauled into.

It wasn't going to be easy, this plan of his. It was going to require finesse, self-control, the ability to lie straight through one's teeth, and….and a place on the ship. He had no idea how many men were on that ship, he had no idea what position she was in now...the realization of what he was going to have to do made him want to leave her all the more.

The sound of wet hacking coughs drew him from his contemplation. He crouched down listening hard, trying to pinpoint the source of the coughs. Three ships over. Jacks ship.

He crept closer and let his shiv slide into his hand. Silently he rounded the corner and discovered that the coughs were coming from a man leaning into a large crate up against the side of the ship. The man wore a pair of grimy sweat streaked coveralls, his greasy yellow hair was pulled back into a matted ponytail and his odor of stale cigarette smoke reached Riddick's sensitive nose. Riddick approached from the side pursing his lips in disdain at the man's complete ignorance of his presence, he wasn't even _trying_ to sneak up on the guy… _Shit,_ he laughed to himself; _this might just be easy after all. _

* * *

The hum of the ships engines snapped Jack out of her haze. They were leaving, she was leaving…Riddick was gone. The raw and potent disappointment that settled in the pit of her stomach surprised her.

She didn't really know why she had run from him… well, she had _thought_ she knew at the time…but now it seemed…well, stupid. Sure she had been drunk, scared, tired, in shock, and pissed at his self-righteous attitude…but still, finding him was the reason she was even there in the first damn place…_maybe I need him less than I thought. Maybe I've grown up in this past year_. The thought scared her a little.

She was pressed into the corner of the shower shivering underneath the spray that had long ago turned cold. She shut off the water and quickly dressed; she walked warily out into the galley praying that Davis was too busy on the bridge to notice her. Stealing over to the food processing unit she grabbed an apple and was making her way to the sanctuary of the dark tangled confines of the engine room when Farris limped into the galley.

_Oh shit Farris. _She had been back on the ship for two days and she hadn't even thought to find him and apologize – _What kind of selfish bitch am I?_ – he had stuck his neck out for her and she just let the guillotines blade fall. Her eyes traveled over his cut lip and bruised eye – _goddamn you Davis._

"Farris, I-I'm so sorr…"

"Save it Jack," he barked at her tearing open the cooler door, "I put my ass on the line for you.."

"Farris I'm sorry, I swear…" she interrupted pleading with him, god he was her only real friend on this damn ship, hell, he was her only friend period, "I'm so sorry, I'll do anything, oh my god Farris. I tried to get back to the ship I swear I…"

He held up a hand silencing her, she felt tears welling in her eyes, "Godammit Jack, I'm…I'm not mad at you! Well, actually I am…but not because of this," he motioned to his face, "you scared the shit outta me when you didn't show up, Jackie. I tried to page your comm. about a hundred times …"

"Farris, listen…"she pleaded.

He flapped his hand at her and continued his rant pacing pack and forth, "I almost went looking for you. What the fuck happened to you Jack, I mean c'mon?"

"Davis found me, and he…well he …." She faltered to a stop as Davis strolled into the room talking over his shoulder to someone else. He stopped short when he laid eyes on Jack and Farris, eyes narrowing before clearing his throat, "I don't think you two have met our new control-room operator, Frye…Jack and Farris."

_Frye?_, _who the hell is…_ her thoughts died as her eyes swept over a very familiar face, only instead of liquid silver she was met with a pair of brown eyes, and…and – _is that __**hair**__? _Had the situation been any different she would've laughed.

"Motherfucker," she hadn't even realized that she'd said it out loud until Farris sniggered.

"Nice to meet you too," Riddick replied, leaning up against the doorframe. Jack was going to catch an ass kicking – no doubt about that – but even he couldn't stop the smirk that curled its way onto his face at the sight of her mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"Uh…yeah, the names…ah, Jack."

"Strange name for a little girl."

She shot him a glare and flopped back into the booth, feigning indifference when in fact it felt as if her heart was trying to crawl up her throat, "Yeah? Well you don't look much like a 'Frye' to me…more like a Richard…or a _Dick_."

His shot her a sharp look. _You're pushing it Jack, you really fucking are._

She knew it.

She switched her gaze back to Davis, "W-what happened to Sieves?"

The quaver in her voice when she addressed Davis irritated Riddick more than he thought it should.

"I don't know…he just disappeared…"

Jack shot a look to Riddick who shrugged nonchalantly.

"…paged him a million times, he never called back so I put a call through to the station, requesting any available control operator…luckily, Frye here was lookin' for a crew position."

Davis turned back to Riddick, "We'll be entering the coordinates to our next port in a couple hours, I'll page you when I need you." And with that he turned and walked back out of the galley, letting the doors slide closed behind him.

"Well, isn't that…lucky." She glared at Riddick, wishing not for the first time that she could read him- _not that it would do me much good anyways…I already know he's pissed._

Farris was now the only buffer between them. Oh yes, he was good and pissed and she knew it. She also knew that she was going to have to face him on her own sooner or later, as they _were_ now living on the same ship.

"So…uh…Frye is it," Farris's voice cut through the tension filled silence, "you're the new operator?"

Riddick turned to look at Farris, as if he just realized he was there, and then without answering he faded back into the darkness of the corridor and made his way back to the control room – _another time Jack, another time._

By this time Jack was slouched back in the booth, puffing on a cigarette, feigning disinterest badly…he could see the intensity on her face and he just could not handle the silence anymore!

"What. The. _Fuck_…was that," he demanded rounding on her, "and don't even try any 'I-don't-know' shit…because _that," _he said jabbing his finger repeatedly at the now empty hallway, "that…was definitely something."

She didn't feel like talking at that moment. In fact, the only thing she did want to do was curl up in a ball and sleep for a couple months…or years, either way was fine; but there was no way in hell that Farris was going to let her get away with that, plus she owed him. Big time.

_Well hell_, she thought stubbing out her cigarette, _little secret had to end sometime_. She grabbed his hand as she stood and drug him off down another walkway that led to the engine rooms. So what if it was loud? And humid, and hot…and dark. She liked it. It was her territory and it was the only place she could take Farris without fear of being overheard by Riddick.

As they situated themselves on some flattened out cardboard boxes- classy, right?- she placed her hands on his arms and leaned forward to talk in his ear; after the not-so-pleasant surprise of finding a disguised Riddick on what was supposed to be her getaway ship…she had one hell of a headache, and yelling over the engines just wouldn't do.

"Ryan," she said, using his first name for added seriousness, "you need to understand that what I'm about to tell you cannot, under any circumstances, be repeated to anyone….do you understand?"

She felt his head nod against hers, "I understand, but can I ask you a question before you get started?" She nodded. "Whatever you're about to tell me…is it something that could get you hurt?"

"It would most likely get me killed, Farris... and you too."

"Shit, Jack," he sighed.

"Yeah, I know."

"Well you might as well go on and tell me…you know you can trust me." She nodded again and scooted closer to embrace him, "Yeah, I know that…and thank you for it."

He patted her back in response, "Get on with it girl."

_Well, here goes nothing._

"Remember when I told you that I lived with a friend of mine who'd saved my life when our ship crashed…when I was younger…" he nodded slowly.

"Well…the ship was…it was the—dammit—it was the _Hunter-Gratzner… _and my—uh—friend he…he…_"_

"Spit it out already Jack, damn! It's hot as fuck down here!"

"Look, this is serious shit that I've never told anyone before…so would you mind givin' me a fucking break?!"

"Ok, ok, ok…" he surrendered holding up his hands.

"Good. Anyways…my friend, he isn't exactly the most…legit guy around…you get me?"

"What d'you mean? Like he was a smuggler or something…convict? What?"

She smiled grimly- oh what she wouldn't do to see the look on his face as she told him this, "Not exactly…you see he's uh…you're not even going to believe this…my 'friend' that I told you about, he's Riddick."

She felt him stiffen beside her, "Come again?"

She sighed , "Farris, my friend, the one who saved me, the one I lived with…it was Richard B. Riddick. THE Riddick."

"You've got to be fucking joking."

" 'Fraid not. He saved me, he didn't have to but he did. And then he took care of me for almost a year…"

"I can't believe I'm hearing this shit right now Jack, I really really can't."

"Trust me, I know. After we got off that fuckin' planet, part of me thought that he would dump me with Imam - the only other survivor- and take off as soon as our feet touched New Meccan ground, but he didn't...he didn't. Part of me now wishes that he would've because then it wouldn't have hurt so bad. I would've missed him...but I wouldn't have needed him. But he stayed and things we're...good - not normal, or easy- but...good. He was...different...with me. Everyone thought he was some kind of monster, " she laughed shaking her head, " he might've been an asshole sometimes, but he was no monster. He left me though, eventually, I guess they always do..."

"Babe, what are you talkin' about?"

"I _needed_ him Farris, at that point of my life...it wasn't some stupid fucking schoolgirl crush! I _needed_ him there. For safety, shit...for _sanity_! To protect me from...myself sometimes. And he knew that. He fucking knew it and he left! He promised me and he fucking left me there! Son of a _bitch_!"

She was yelling now, and Farris was pretty sure that the piece of metal she was gripping her hand wasn't a fucking butter knife. "Jack, hey , calm down…"

"Calm DOWN," she shrieked, he was pretty sure everyone in the ship heard _that_, "calm down? I'm sitting here telling you that this motherfucker deserted me when I needed him the most; and you tell me to calm down? Fuck you, Farris! I don't need that shit! He broke my heart when he left, Farris. I lo…" she slapped her hand over her mouth, _did I really almost just say that? _It wasn't something that she hadn't thought about before…but saying it out loud…that made it too real.

Farris leaned forward and placing a hand on her shoulder, began rubbing her neck; it was comforting and extremely familiar; when she remembered why she jerked back as if she'd been burned.

"Don't do that," she glanced at him, he looked hurt, "no, no it's not you Farris…it's…ugh godammit- he- Riddick used to do the same thing when I was upset."

He sat back as if slapped, "What? Jack…you're going to sit here and tell me that Riddick. Richard B.-Motherfucking- Riddick rubbed your neck when you were upset?"

She nodded and he laughed, "No fucking way. See, now I _know_ you're fucking with me. Because- because there's no way! There's just no way…next thing you're gonna tell me is that he painted your toenails and braided your hair."

She snorted in laughter at the thought but sobered up instantly as she remembered that the man she was laughing at was probably no more than 50 yards away from her, and he wasn't the moody-but-indulgent "big brother" from her past. He was the pissed-off Riddick, and she was the one he was pissed at…and they were stuck on a ship together. Fuck! Suddenly nothing seemed funny anymore.

"Seriously Farris. It hurt me a lot when he left. I never got over it. He's the reason why I'm even here! I left my home, my family…everything, to find him. I signed up with this ship because I figured a bunch of mercs would always be on the lookout for him."

He just sat there reeling. How could this be real? He knew she wouldn't lie to him…especially about something like this….but damn!

"Shit, Jack," was just about all he could manage, "w-why would you tell _me _this…I mean you know I would never fuck you over like that…. but I'm a merc Jack, this is my job..."

"I know…but you're….different," She patted his cheek like you would a child; "you're in this shit for the adventure…not just for the payday." He nodded; damn she sure had his number. He was growing tired, all of this stress in a period of two days was wearing on him, he was gonna but out his stash of tequila tonight…fuck protocol.

"Anyways…long story short, when I left my father...Imam- well, he's my adopted father now, but he's better than my real one ever was- he contacted Riddick and told him I had signed up with mercs which he, for obvious reasons, um…hates; so he came looking for me, found me in Vero's, saved me, yelled at me, tried to make me listen to him, yelled some more…basic pattern with him and I…."

She couldn't believe how flippant she was being about this; the exhaustion was definitely starting to get to her, that and the emotional mind fuck she had sustained not only from Davis but from Riddick himself.

"…except this time it was me who ran away; but, like the stubborn asshole he is, he followed me and found me again….and here we are…."

Farris head jerked up at those words, "What do you mean 'and here we are'?"

She giggled. What for? She didn't know…the situation wasn't at all funny, but she guessed Farris's cluelessness amused her. "Well, you wanted to know what all the tension in the galley was for."

He was shaking his head, "What does Frye have to do with th…" he trailed off, realization dawning. "No fucking way," he whispered, "that guy…tha-our _control room operator_…th-that…"

"That's Richard B. Riddick: escaped convict, murderer, and complete asshole."

"WHAT?!" His bellow sent her reeling backwards, as his mouth had been mere inches from her ear.

"Ouch Farris, shit! What the hell was that for…." She was cut off as he yanked her towards him whispering furiously-

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you? You let Riddick onto our _ship_! This is a merc ship, Jack for fucks _sake_! Are you _crazy_!? Is _HE_?! Are you two _trying_ to get killed? Davis will murder you and turn Riddick in without batting a fucking eye! Fuck that, how do you know _Riddick_ won't kill _us _all in our sleep? Huh?" It was his turn to rant and all of her objections were cut short as he waved his hand in her face. "You have gone completely off the fucking chart, haven't you?"

She laughed bitterly- _maybe I have, because I can't even believe this is happening- _rising she extended her hand to Farris who took it and hauled himself up, brushing off his pants repeatedly to mask the anxiety climbing in his chest.

"I didn't let him onto the ship Farris—c'mon let's get outta here—he followed me, and Davis won't find out that it's him…because I'm not going to say anything, and if you value your life…you won't either, besides that you don't have to worry about him hurting you…stay outta his way and you'll be fine; it's my ass he's here to kick anyways."

She left him and walked back to the galley by herself, she was starving and the thought of whipping up about twelve hamburgers with extra cheese –no onions of course – wiped all thoughts of Riddick from her head, for the time being.

* * *

Three hours later Jack was napping lightly in the galley when the sound of the doors hissing open caused startled her out of her slumber. The sound of heavy boots hitting the floor reached her ears and she stiffened unconsciously.

_Riddick, _she thought, willing herself to stay still,_ maybe if I don't move he'll go away. _

She stayed frozen for what seemed like hours, and just when she was convinced that he had left the room a deadly cold voice whispered right in her hear, causing her to squeak in surprise.

"You really think that's gonna work?"

_Shit! _She lifted her head up off of her arms slowly and turned to look at him, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights of some rapidly approaching vehicle…or a teenage girl who's just been caught sneaking into the house by her dad after a night of partying. _I can't deal with this now. Now right now._

She considered running to the engine rooms and locking herself in until she thought of a way to deal with him, but before she could fully remove herself from the booth he had his hands wrapped around her neck.

"Where do you think you're goin' huh," he snarled as he slammed her ass down into the table, making her cry out in pain.

" Gah…OW, you sonofa…," she cried. She snapped her knee up hoping to connect with his balls, but only succeeded in getting her legs pinned painfully between his.

She knew it was pointless, but she was too pissed to care. So she flailed, and bit, and struggled until he lifted her up off the table by her neck then slammed her back down, knocking the air out of her.

She lay there struggling to inhale while he leaned over her pressing his lips together in order to quell the urge to cuss her out.

"That hurt, you asshole," she spat glaring up at him.

"Shut up," he said pulling her head up to his mouth, "I should ghost your ass right here for pulling that shit." She went rigid, but he couldn't detect even the slightest whiff of fear from her...only anger mixed with adrenaline. It was a slightly intoxicating scent, pure Jack- _hey asshole, you're supposed to be beating the shit out of her here...concentrate._

"Kill me then, shit. I don't give a fuck," she choked out as his hand tightened around her throat, "you don't either. So what the hell are you waiting for?"

That stung a little bit - _I **do** care. Shit, I wish I didn't, but I do...too much for my own good, I think._

He pushed away from her with an incredulous look on his face, "What did you say to me?"

"I said you don't fucking care," she snapped back rubbing her neck and slipping back down into the booths seat. She watched him warily, but he just stood there deadpan in place. She had never wanted to slap someone so bad in her life. "I don't know why you came back, or what you were expecting…"

"Shut up, Jack," he interrupted pointing and her, "we're not going over this shit again. I left because that's what needed to happen. Stop being stupid."

"Stupid?" She sounded indignant, but at this point Riddick couldn't possibly care less, "How the fuck am I being stupid, Riddick, really? I'm only following your lead. Running when shit gets too close, too heavy. That's your M.O., right?"

He wasn't sure whether he wanted to slap her, or laugh. _Goddamn, five years and that mouth of hers has only gotten worse. _

"Kid, if you don't shut that goddamn mouth...I swear to god-," he was cut short by a snort of derisive laughter.

"You swear-to-god what, Riddick? Hmm? You gonna kick my ass? Shiv me, ex me out? What?! Just what the _fuck_ are you going to do to me that hasn't already been done?" She was crying now, wiping the tears angrily from her face. "You have no _idea_ what I've been through, the things I've _done_...just to find you."

Throughout her whole tirade, he had sat in silence watching the tears roll down her face had put his mind in a state of turmoil like nothing else ever had. Anger, he was used to; he knew how to deal with it, how to use it. Even sadness, what little experience he'd had with the emotion, was something that he could understand.

But the strange dull pain that settled in his chest at the sight of her tear stained face was something that he hadn't encountered in a long time; and for the first time in many many years he had no clue what to do.

_What the fuck is wrong with me,_ he thought sliding into the bench across from her, noting how she jumped a little when his leg brushed hers, _why do I even care this much?_

"What the hell are you looking at, huh," she snapped scrubbing at her face with the hem of her tank top - _stop crying godammit- _"Does it make you feel good to see me cry, does it make-".

_"_Stop Jack," he started, _what the hell am I doing, I have no idea what I'm doing._ "Just tell me."

"Tell you what, Riddick?" She was beyond tears now, she was just tired. "What do you want to hear?"

"Shit, kid I don't know," he shrugged, "whatever there is that needs to be said, I guess." There were few times in their history together that Jack had seen him uncomfortable, this was one of them...and she took perverse pleasure in it.

She leaned forward raising her eyebrows, "You sure you wanna hear about the things I've done, Riddick? I won't be sweet little Jackie anymore."

He considered leaning in as well-it was a pretty basic intimidation technique, to get in someone's personal bubble- but he was trying to get her to talk to him, and the way her lips seemed be calling to him...well, it was just better if he stayed on his side of the table. "Sweet, Jack? You're a lot of things...but I'm pretty sure 'sweet' isn't one of them."_._

"Fuck you, Riddick...and _I'm_ more than pretty sure that you're not gonna like what I have to say."

Then as an afterthought she added, " Not that I've ever cared whether or not you liked what I had to say."

His mouth twitched upwards- _that's more like it, kid._ "What, kid? You break a couple laws? Smuggle some shit, what?" He was almost laughing, but stopped as he saw the look on her face, "You kill somebody, Jack?"

_Shit, say no kid...not like me, say no._

"Yeah." She closed her eyes.

"Just one, kid," he asked, now leaning forward onto the table, "look at me...just one?" Silence.

_I'll take that as a 'no'._

"How many?"

"God, Riddick...I don't want to talk about this," she sat back covering her face now.

"How many," he demanded trying to reign in his anger- _this is why I left,_ _**this**_ _is why you were supposed to stay in New Mecca!_

"Eleven," she whispered through her fingers, "I've killed eleven people. Seven men, four women."

"They were all smugglers on the ships we hauled in. Most of them went quietly, once we brought out the gauges, but some of them...some of them didn't."

_My god ...I never wanted this for you. " _Jack..."

"Don't, Riddick. Don't. I know what I've done is-is...I'm..." she exhaled a great quivering sigh and cradled her head in her hands and then laughed hollowly, "how about now, Riddick...does this make me a bad person?"

"Nope." It was his lack of hesitation that surprised her the most.

"No?"

"No. Remember who you're talking to, Jack. I know that you didn't ex anyone who didn't pull a weapon on you first, did you?"

"N-No."

"Didn't think so. And would they've killed you if you didn't kill them?"

She thought about this for a second, "Yeah. I think so."

"There's nothing to think about, Jack. They would've, don't you ever forget that, don't you ever hesitate. It'll get you killed".

_God, he sounds just like he used to during my training..._

"It was them or you. I've killed a lot more...for a lot less...so lighten up."

And she did.

It was amazing and infuriating at the same time. In less than two minutes, Riddick had soothed a years' worth of consuming guilt, it wasn't gone completely...but damned if it didn't feel better in this perspective. _Son of a bitch._

"I really hate you sometimes, Dick, you know that?" She flashed him a watery smile, and suddenly he was reminded strongly of the 14 year old Jack he had watched over; that playful teasing quality was back for the first time and it pleased him beyond measure though he wasn't sure why.

"What did you just call me, "he demanded as he pushed up out of his seat and leaned over the table so he was towering over her. She took one look at the deep scowl on his face and bust out in nervous giggles.

"You think that's funny, huh?" She nodded enthusiastically, trying to hide the fact that she was sliding out of the booth inch-by-inch. When she had maneuvered to the edge of the seat his hand shot out from across the table and secured her wrist in an unbreakable grip and began pulling her towards him.

She resisted by planting her feet against the bottom of the booth he was sitting on, but he didn't stop pulling, so eventually she found herself with her legs locked out straight in front of her, with her wrists in his hands and her butt a foot off of the ground. She knew she must look like a petulant child resisting a parent who was attempting to pull them from the playground.

"Riddick, Riddick don't..." she pleaded in between giggles, but he now had what she used to call his 'Big Evil' smile on his face. The 'Big Evil' smile usually meant that he had thought of some particularly evil form of punishment; in her case it used to mean that he had come up with some exceedingly good payback for one of her smartass comments...like now.

"C'mon I was just kidding...Riddick...don't!"

"You wanna see something funny, Jack, c'mere..."

"Frye," Gerod's voice came from the intercom on the wall, startling the hell out of Jack, "Frye, Davis says 'e needs ya on the bridge. ASAP."

He turned his glance from the intercom back to Jack who grinned at him as if to say 'ha-ha you lose', "Saved by the bell, huh?"

He smiled sweetly back, "Not quite," and let her go; it took a lot not to laugh at the look of surprise on her face.

Her ass hit the ground with a hard thump, " Umph...ouch...you motherf- that hurt!" She tried to smother more laughter as she cursed at him, kicking at his shins as he stood over her. If it had been anyone else laying at his feet laughing after being dropped on their ass, he would've thought they were out of their mind...but it was Jack - _a stupid fuckin commercial used to send her into hysterics. _

Until that moment he hadn't realized how much he had truly missed her. Especially her laugh...and that smile.

He couldn't stop the rumble of laughter as he knelt down besides her brushing the hair out of her eyes, ignoring the alarm bells that went off in his head.

_Close! You're too close! Back up, what're you doing?!_ His conscious screamed at him_, you shouldn't be doing this you stupid motherfucker_; but the beast just growled in response, _Fuck it._

He pressed his lips against hers and a shock ran up his spine; it took a second before he realized that she had gone rigid underneath him- _what the fuck?_

He opened his eyes only to find her already wide, staring up at him through the mess of curls across her forehead.

_She's scared...of me_

_...and why wouldn't she be, you idiot. She probably thinks you're some fucked up perv, pinnin' her to the ground like this..._

_I've gotta get the fuck outta here!_

He pushed himself up off of her, turning his head away as he did, "Riddick, Riddick…wait."

He never turned around but rushed to the galley doors, slammed his palm into the pushbutton, and was halfway down the hall before the door hissed back shut; leaving Jack laying on the floor breathless, a little hurt and more confused than she had ever been in her life.

They had gone from fighting to talking and then to joking around within half an hour…but that was normal…at least for them. Hell, most of their arguments back when they lived together usually ended up with her on the floor begging him to stop tickling her; it was how they operated.

But that kiss…

_(that was definitely something…)_

It had surprised the shit out of her. She'd been kissed before…_but it's never felt like that, I still feel like I'm …drunk a little bit…just from a kiss._

She wasn't sure if it had meant anything to him , or if he had even meant to do it…but she was going to find out. No matter how uncomfortable it made him.

She smiled softly as she pulled herself up off the floor, "Well, at least I know there's no where he can run to now."

* * *

**Hey sorry the update took so long... don't worry I haven't abandoned the story...I hate it when ppl do that :)**

**FluidDegree: Yes...eventually I'll get to her uncle (I couldn't pass up the chance to delve into Riddicks dark side)...but it'll be later on ;)**

**DragonMamma: Thanks so much! I've tried not to let his emotions overpower his rough edges...I hope you continue reading!**

**FairyDust889: Hey thanks for the reviews babe! I might need you to critique me later on lol :P**

**To ALL of you who R&R: Thanks A Bunch! xoxo**

* * *


	8. Resolutions

(Hi-o! Lo siento if I kept you waiting but here it is...the next update! yay! So in this chap. Riddy has a conversation w.himself...his 'animal' side is in _**bold italics**_ and Riddy's is in _plain italics_ okey-dokey...I don't want anyone to be confused!)

* * *

Riddick pushed himself away from the nav console, ran his hands over his head and wrinkled his nose at the feeling of the short crew cut hair growing there. Having hair wasn't the issue, but having hair that came from a vamped up hair follicle stimulation injection was. The shit was itchy as hell. And the contacts...not being able to see in the dark was definitely an uncomfortable feeling, it was a disadvantage. _But they do make a damn fine disguise_, he thought to himself, i_f a crew of mercs haven't i.d me yet._

_Altering my body for disguises, signing up with a merc crew, pretending to be someone else...shit, I've never been so deep in it_ ..._well...I HAVE...it's just been awhile._

Thankful for the isolation of the control room/bridge he reclined the chair and pulled an apple out of his pocket. He felt like an idiot carting food around in his pockets when there was a fully stocked kitchen less than 40 yards from where he sat. But he and Jack had already had TWO uncomfortable run in's in the past two weeks on this ship, so as far as he was concerned...the galley wasn't neutral ground anymore_**. **_Anyways...SHE was in there right now. He knew because he could smell sausage, eggs, chocolate chips and pancake batter wafting up through the vents, and he knew that those chocolate chips had probably never even made it to the skillet. Damn it smelled delicious and here he was stuck here with a sorry ass piece of fruit.

He knew that Jack had needed to be put in her place. She had gotten beside herself the last time he'd seen her, and he wasn't about to tolerate her bullshit. Especially not in front of a group of fuckin' mercs. Still there was a nagging sensation in tha back of his mind that something between them had changed for the worst. He cared about her, he really REALLY wished he didn't but he did. But he knew that if she pushed him too far he would hurt her.

_I would have to. Been runnin' my whole fuckin' life and I ain't about to go down because some girl doesn't know when to just shut up and go with what I say. I'm not fuckin' having that. Now Jack...she **knows** that. Or at least she used to._

He growled and tore into the apple, he frowned at the smell the emanated from the pierced skin...it smelled so much like her. What was he going to do about Jack? The question had denied him sleep for better part of two weeks.

The beast demanded that he take her, that he make her submit - _**she wants to belong to us Dickey boy, you know it...you FELT it.**_

_She's probably planning ways to ex me out_, he replied silently, _I know she's been trying to catch me alone_._ Since she's grown up there's a line 'tween me and Jack...a line that NEEDS to be there. I stepped over that line. No, I took a fucking runnin' LEAP over that line-_

_**- and it felt good...**_

_- ...but it's not even an option. And that's not the problem. The problem is how the hell I'm supposed to get her away from Davis and this ass-backwards operation he's runnin' with her tryin' to run her mouth every fuckin' step of the way._

Over the past week Riddick had begun to notice slight discrepancies in the things that Davis talked about with his crew and the courses that he told Riddick to plot. Riddick had overheard (deliberately) Davis giving Farris an estimate of what their earnings for returning Counsel property to the station on Trelios 6 should be. He had found this strange because Trelios 6, being part of an independent mining system, _had_ no Counsel set-up sites. Neither did Ipos, Ailad, Airam or any other destinations Davis had given him to plot. Something about it sent up the red flags.

To make matters worse, Davis was unknowingly testing the very limits of Riddick's waning self control every time he brought up Jack. Two nights ago, Riddick had come very close to blowing the whole operation and ending Davis's life.

* * *

_**Flashback **_

Riddick had been sitting up in the control room downloading information on available small transport units on Trelios 6 onto a portdrive when the door slid open. He quickly shut off the monitor and turned to look at Davis who was occupied with tugging up his recently discovered open fly.

Davis then flopped down next to him and he turned his head away clenching his teeth. Jack's scent was all. over. him.

"What're you doin' up here Frye," Davis asked jokingly, " you up here jackin' off or somethin'," he laughed again, "I'd save if for Trelios if I were you...they got some of the finest pieces of ass this side of the Mekanan system."

"I just finished inputting the next star jump," he replied dryly, "there should be no interruptions." The combined scent of Jack and Davis was driving him insane and not in the good way. Never before had he so badly wanted to cause someone pain. That dumb motherfucker he had ghosted back on Sona had pissed him off, but back then he _knew_ he was going to kill the guy anyway, and grabbing on Jack like that had only sealed his death sentence. But for the time being, until Riddick knew for sure just how connected with the Counsel he was, Davis was untouchable...and it was killing Riddick.

"You don't talk much do you," Davis had asked reaching forward and flipping on his own monitor, "that's good. I like that in a crew mate. Someone who knows when to just shut the fuck up, you know?"

Riddick grunted in response willing the other man to either shut up or burst into spontaneous flames...either way, his screams would be better than silence. _Come the fuck on_, he silently swore at the portdrive, _hurry up and finish downloading._

"Most of my crews' got that so far," he continued scooting his chair up closer to the monitor, "'cept for Farris." He looked at Riddick and whispered conspiratorially, "I think that little fucker might be a playing for the other team if you catch my drift."

Riddick nodded. Every second sitting next to this man took a monumental amount of self control. Sex. He smelled like Jack and sex. Riddick had to fight back the snarl that came from both him and the beast inside who at the moment was screaming for release, for blood.

"Jumpin' Jesus on a pogo stick, will you look at that," the man exclaimed rocking back in his seat. Riddick turned to look at the man and was surprised to see rivulets of blood streaming from his face and neck from a multitude of shallow but well placed cuts. His eyelids were gone, and his lips had been removed giving him the morbidly comic look of a grinning semi-deteriorated corpse. His throat was slashed so deep the spine was visible, his pretty boy golden blonde hair had been ripped out in clumps, and all of his finger tips had been removed.

"Frye," the corpse snapped making little clicking sounds as his teeth bumped together, "what the hell are you smilin' at?"

Riddick squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them again Davis sat there, whole and healthy as ever, "Look at the screen, not ME."

Riddick shook his head and grunted before turning to look at the screen where an image of a petite blonde with huge breasts and an impossibly small waist lay draped across some expensive looking silk sheets. Davis let out a low whistle, "_That's _the kinda ass they have on Trelios, my friend."

Personally, Riddick had thought that the woman looked like she was in desperate need of a sandwich but he said nothing, he didn't trust himself not to tell Davis to go stick his dick in a socket and flip the switch. The light signaling the end of the file download still hadn't blinked. _C'mon you motherfucker!_

"Don't know about you," Davis said scrolling down the page," but I cannot _wait _'till we get planet side. Jackie...she's a good lay and all but god_damn..._will you _look_ at the rack on this little firecracker. Plus, ole Jackie girls more of a convenience lay, you know. On a ship beggars can't be choosers."

By then Riddick was shaking with the effort of not planting his foot knee deep into Davis's ass.

Davis turned to him and smiled, not even knowing that he was literally about three words away from having his tongue pulled through his neck, "It's a good set up though. I picked her up hungry, wet and without a cred to her name; she got a job and some security and I got some cheap labor and free pussy!" He kicked back in his chair chuckling, "And I don't even have to share. The boys know she belongs to me."

The last four words to leave Davis's mouth rang in Riddick's head as he threw all plans to remain calm out the goddamn window. He was reaching for his shiv when the little light on the portdrive lit up. He wrapped his shaking hand around in and yanked it from the console before snapping up out of his chair to head for the door.

"Hey where ya takin' off to," Davis called from the console.

Riddick froze two feet from the door visibly shaking. He didn't dare turn around lest Davis see the fury etched into every contour of his face. Visions of him ripping out Davis throat and then sticking his hand into his chest cavity and ripping out his heart filled Riddick's head and he had to steady himself against the door frame and bite out a semi-normal sounding response, "Tired. I'll finish running updates on our location in a couple hours."

He left then, went to the gym and attacked the punching bag until the chain snapped and he had to spend the next hour taping up the casing. The animal wasn't sated...not in the least. Sleep hadn't come easy that night.

_**End Flashback**_

Riddick swallowed the last bite of apple, he was pissed and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. _Fuck this shit, _he thought pushing up out of the chair_, I'm not hiding from anyone. Especially not Jack, she either runs with me...or I knock her ass out and drag her along for the ride. I'm going to the gym. _

* * *

Jack rolled over in bed and pulled up her panties, wincing at the raw stinging pain emanating from between her legs. He'd been unusually rough this time...not that he was normally considerate of her needs. She had no idea what time it was, but in space it never really mattered anyways...all she knew was that the ship was powered down to auto system performance, so that meant that the rest of the boys were probably asleep. She looked over at Davis's sleeping form next to her and pursed her lips. Every day he became less tolerable, everyday she resented him a little more and - after Riddick had touched her - sex with him became almost unbearable. She couldn't even pretend to be interested anymore and yet she couldn't just start refusing him all of a sudden. He would raise too many questions, start too many fights. _At least I don't have to worry about him noticing my disinterest_, she thought listening to his raspy snores. She stared at the ceiling blinking back tears - _How did I get myself into this shit,_ she wondered_, I should've just stayed in New Mecca._

Two weeks had passed since the incident in the galley and Jack was at her wits end. She had no idea how mercs could track Riddick down from across the universe and she couldn't even manage it on a ship! Sure, she had seen him...once, about five days after he had kissed her on the floor by the table. And now she wasn't sure if she wanted to see him ever again.

* * *

_**Flashback**_

She had dragged herself into the galley sweaty, dirty, starving and reeking of engine fumes only to run smack dab into Farris.

"Hey babe," he smirked backing up," you look like shit."

She smiled back sweetly, "Well, fuck you very much Ryan Reginald Thurman Farris the Third." He glared at her and she glared back.

"P.M.S much," he asked sarcastically. She growled and brushed past him,"Bite me, Fairy-Ass" she snapped and then stopped, almost choking on her words.

Riddick was sitting in the booth where he kissed her with his back turned towards her. She knew it was him though, it had to be. She also knew that he knew that she was there. She grabbed a energy shake out of the cooler unit and slid in the bench across from him, noticing how his eyes never left his plate. "Don't like the food?"

He shrugged and muttered, "I've had worse."

She looked up as the galley doors slid open and Gerod and Riley walked in. She ignored them and they ignored her as usual. She leaned in closer to him, "Kinda hard to hide on a ship huh?"

His eyes snapped up to meet hers and before he could reply she held up a hand, " Don't bother lying, I know you've been hiding."

He put his fork down and leaned in too, "I don't hide from anyone but money hungry mercs, and that's only because they're like cockroaches...can't kill them all."

She threw his own smirk that she had perfected over the years back into his face, "Well, I'm a merc now and I definitely like money," she whispered, "and you _could _kill me...but I know you won't."

She watched him look out of the corner of his eye to gauge the distance between them and the crew. And then she felt cold metal slide up her leg. _Shit how did his hand get under the table!?_

_"_You sure about that," he growled almost inaudibly. She wasn't about to let him win, so she locked eyes with him and pressed her leg up until she could feel the blade cutting into her skin. She watched his face and almost smiled …he was backing down. "You're pushing your luck, kid."

"Why did you kiss me?" _**Now**__ I'm pushing it, _she thought. His eyes returned to his plate.

"I don't know."

"You're lying." She knew it meant something because...because it just had to.

He stared silently at her and relaxed back into his seat fixing her with a detatched gaze. His dismissal was worse than a slap in the face and it made her blood boil.

"I know the runnin' is your M.O.," she said contemptously, "but maybe this one time you can actually explain why you bitched out... I mean I'm used to it by now of course. I mean first, you left me in a cave to die, then you left me in New Mecca to fight for myself, and this time you left me just wondering what the hell was going on. I have to admit it's getting easier. Next time you leave - and I'm sure thaty you will - I may not even notice you're gone." Her face was the picture of cool, calm and composed...but in her head...in her head her common sense was pleading for her to ' for-the-love-of-god-Jack-just-shut-the-fuck-up'!

If she had expected a blow-out scene she wouldv'e been sorely dissapointed. Riddick merely smirked, but in his eyes she could seen a spark of something that promised pain. If they had been anywhere else she was sure she wouldv'e been unconscious half way through her little speech.

"It won't happen again." His attitude was so cold and that had hurt more than the comment itself. He was shutting her out, little by little, but she was determined to have her answer. She leaned forward across the table wishing she could get right in his face. "Why. Not?"

The slight trace astonishment that passed over is face pleased her to no end, it wasn't every day that one surprised Riddick, " Why won't it happen again," she pressed leaning in closer, "Because I'm too young for you?" She could almost see him retreating into himself and she was frantic to get a response, ANY response out of him...even with Gerod and Riley sitting across the room.

"Sure."

"Bullshit," she laughed quietly, stealing looks over to Gerod and Riley who were across the galley, " half the girls in those brothels you used to hit were just barely legal and I'm almost two years older than that, three if you add in the time spent in cryo, so don't give me that crap." Anger had filtered into her words without her knowing it. "Why the fuck have you been avoiding me like I have the goddamn bubonic plague?"

"This is not the place-"

"Oh please-"

"This is _not _the fucking time, Jack."

"Fuck that," she whispered viscously," you can lie to everybody else but you can't lie to-"

"Jack c'mere for a second," Farris called from across the room, "I need your help with somethin' darlin'."

Her eyes never left Riddick's. Years ago when she had been reading a Bible that she had come across in Imam's study , she had become entranced in this story where a man named Peter was able to walk on water because he focused his mind, his thoughts and his eyes on God; but when he looked away when he lost focus, he sank. He lost that ability. That power. She wasn't about to sink.

Granted, to most Riddick was about as far away from God as you could be without actually crossing the fiery gates, but not to Jack. He wasn't her god - not close- but she drew power from his strength. From the raw, untamed power of the animal entity that resided deep inside to very core of him. From his eyes. Never in her life had she felt as invincible as she did in this moment, staring down the beast. She was not afraid; for the first time in years she felt no fear.

"In a sec, Farris."

"You really wanna know, Jack," he was just toying with her now, she could see the malicious little smile that played around his lips, "you wanna know why it'll _never_ happen again?"

"Jack I really need your help," Farris called again.

"IN A GODDAMN SECOND," she barked loudly, drawing attention from Gerod and Riley who had been until that point oblivious of the little war in the corner, and Davis who had just walked in. _Well shit, _she had thought then_, we have a crowd now_.

"Yeah, I _really _wanna know," she whispered to him trying her best to keep a straight face. She didn't want Davis to suspect anything weird but she felt as if she were dangling by a thread over a black hole. She wanted to know, she NEEDED to know. And the thought that she may not like the answer never crossed her mind.

She felt the electric high she had been on dissipate as Riddick tore his eyes from hers and spotted Davis who was glancing at them over the rim of his coffee tin, "Because you're fuckin up," he growled lowly so only she could hear him, "and I'm not about to let some stupid bitch get me killed." He pushed up away from the booth and dumped his plate in the washing unit and walked out leaving her speechless in her seat. Suddenly being sucked into a black hole didn't sound quite so bad.

_**End Flashback**_

* * *

She slid out of the bed slowly and pulled on a pair of loose work-out sweats and her favorite black tank; it was one of Riddick's that she had snatched out of his drawer before he left. By now it was faded to gray and had lost all elasticity but she loved it none the less, it was comfortable and sometimes she swore that it still held his scent. She tried hard to hate him. She really did.

_My dear Jacqueline, you are fighting a losing battle. You know in your heart that the bond between yourself and Mr. Riddick is as if cast in stone. As far and as long as he runs…he knows…that you will forever be a part of him. And you know, my child, that as hard as you fight, as angry as you may become…he will forever be a part of you. _She could swear that Imam was standing next to her his voice was so clear, so strong; but in her heart she knew she was alone.

"That doesn't mean I have to like it though," she muttered to herself as she pulled her tresses up into a messy bun and made for the door. She could hear his booming laughter in her head- _No, my child. But like it or not, it is the way God intended it to be. Forgive him, Jack. For all the pain he has caused you trust that he has borne it as well. Forgive him and forgive yourself. _

_That's not something I can do_, she replied silently. She turned to see Davis roll over and flop his arm onto her pillow before she slid the door shut.

_He doesn't even know I'm gone. _

For reason beyond her understanding this thought brought six years worth of pain flooding back in. Memories that she had painstakingly covered and repressed came surging up with a vengeance that terrified her.

Memories of her screaming as she sat hunched over the body of a woman with long curly hair and hollow brown eyes laying cold and stiff on a bathroom floor with a needle sticking out of her arm; a balding man with nervous watery eyes and pointy rat-like nose telling her to 'just come sit on uncle Bernies lap'; hacking off her hair in the dim flickering light of a transport station and binding her breasts painfully with a roll of elastic bandage wrap; the sound of flapping wings, darkness, the smell of blood and screams; and collapsing exhausted and empty at Imam's feet as the man who had made the monsters go away, who had become her anchor, who she…loved, left her. Alone. He didn't even care that she was gone.

_I can't do this, _she thought as she willed her chest to relax enough to draw in breath_, I can't do this anymore. I'm so tired of thinking about what 'could've been', if he would've stayed. He doesn't owe me shit, and he'll never let me in. I'll never be more than some idol worshipping naïve little girl to him… and I'm done playing that part. I can't do it anymore. I quit. Gameover…_

"Check please."

(_Why don't you butch up, stuff a cork in this fuckin' kid and let's go_.)

She smiled a little at the memory of some of the last words she had heard from the 'Billy Bad Ass' merc William Johns. "Fuck you Johns," she laughed bitterly as she began walking down the hallway that led to the gym, "But yeah, I'm 'mushin' on'."


	9. Descent

Descent_**:**_ 1) A downward incline or passage; a slope. 2) any passing from higher to lower in degree or state… _**3) A sudden visit or attack; an onslaught.**_

* * *

Growing up in foster care, Riddick had never been exposed to others like him. He had never been taught how to merge seamlessly with the animalistic component of his heritage, consequently the primal inhuman being resided in his mind and personality as a separate entity. It had taken years for Riddick to understand and control the often violent urges that seized him; and over time he began to blend with the animal side … but it was still it's own entity and that part of him played the devil's advocate at every given opportunity.

As far as Riddick was concerned, there was no better therapy than beating the shit out of something for a couple of hours. The punching bag located in the _Ishtar's _gym had definitely seen better days but for the past two hours it had taken Riddick brutal beating without exploding and that's all that mattered. His arms, legs, and stomach burned from the exertion, but his thoughts were clear for the first time in weeks. There was no questioning or second guessing the situation. The bag was here, and he planned on beating the shit out of it. Plain and simple. Plain and simple was good…

…_Jack's not plain and simple, _a voice tempted from the depths of his mind_, she's got that fire. She's rough around the edges…but we can break her in. Little Jack has tuned into quite the little lady…_

"...not…happenin'…," he growled between blows.

_So we're going to let the merc have her then, _the beast countered_, is that the plan?_

Riddick punched the bag harder and tried to ignore it.

* * *

Jack paused outside the gym door listening to the sounds of his fists pounding into the bag. She silently hoped that it was Farris or even Gerod or Riley but she already knew it wasn't…none of them hit hard enough to make the bag swing of its chain like that.

_Take it easy Jack,_ she told herself_, play this right. You quit the game. If he doesn't care, then you don't either. _She pressed the hand pad and the door slid open with a low hissing sound. The punches stopped.

Riddick was standing in front of her, shirtless, with his back to her. One hand was stilled the bag and the other hung loose at his side. She checked herself mentally – _don't even let it phase you_ – but couldn't help but stare. He still seemed to dwarf her as much as he did when she was 14. His skin was still the same light shade of caramelized sugar and she couldn't help but wonder if he was the same color _all _over. She watched as a bead of sweat rolled leisurely down the smooth valley in the middle of his back.

"Something you need?"

She jumped at the sound of his voice but recovered quickly.

"Nothing that you have to offer," she replied icily as she threw her towel on one of the benches and started over to the treadmill in the opposite corner.

He chuckled darkly before turning his attention back to the bag.

"Bitchiness," he said coolly beginning to work the bag once more, "isn't exactly your best quality."

She ignored him. She started up the treadmill rolling her eyes, "Yeah, well I'm not here to please anyone."

"That's not what Davis said."

She whipped around almost falling off the moving treadmill. But turned her back on him once more. _Don't let him see you off guard dammit! Play. It. Cool._

"And – uh – what did he say?"

His face was contorted in malicious pleasure as he turned to look at her, smirking.

"Oh. Nothing really. Just that you've become his stay-at-home-whore. I always knew you needed attention," he turned his back to her then, "…but damn Jack, I guess I expected a little more out of you."

She gaped at him. The word 'whore' echoing in her head. _Need attention? Need ATTENTION? _She didn't trust herself enough to speak . If that's how he wanted to play it then she would be more than happy to oblige.

"Told you about that did he," she forced a laugh and was pleased to hear that actually sounded real, he turned to look at her, "well, what can I say? I'm a woman…I have needs." She peeked over her shoulder coyly at him and smiled evilly, "And with dick _that_ good, I don't mind stayin' home at all."

His face tightened with indescribable wrath and she saw something in his eyes flicker like a light going out…..but she turned away- _point one for me motherfucker_.

She slipped her headphones on and began to run.

The music flowed through her and around her and in her mind she was running through the sand in the dark.

_**Breathe, trust, bless me and release,  
Climb, hard or never be seen.  
Closed off, rescue to breathe.  
Just bless me**__**. **_

_**Two sided time,  
Your rebirth can't hurt,  
Branch out behind, the pain.**_

The faces of Shazza and Frye flashed in front of her closed eyes and she ran harder. She had no idea that less than twenty feet behind her Riddick was fighting his own losing battle against the beast…not that he was fighting too hard to begin with.

_**Closure has come to me myself,  
You will never belong to me.  
Closure has come to me myself,  
You will never belong to me.**_

She reached out blindly in front of her and cranked up the speed. She wanted to run, she wanted to run until she couldn't remember who she was or where she came from. Her heart thudded and her breath hitched but she sped up all the same.

_**Had to turn, lay down,  
Your sting of disease.  
Phase you out, should've seen this coming.  
Go on confusing the soul,  
Hold my breath 'til you rupture.**_

Three days aside,  
Your rebirth can't hurt,  
Branch out behind, pride

Riddick stalked soundlessly up behind her. He knew she couldn't hear him but he was careful all the same, he wanted to have to element of surprise…and besides…Riddick wasn't really the one in control anymore.

_**Closure has come to me myself,  
You will never belong to me.  
Closure has come to me myself,  
You will never belong to me.**_

Like a leach,  
I hold on as if we belonged,  
To some precious pure dream.  
Cast off, you've seen what's beneath,  
Now fail –

Her headphones were ripped from her head as she was pulled bodily from the still moving treadmill. Her eyes flew open and she swallowed a squeak when she saw that she was face to face with Riddick. She was wrapped in his arms with her feet dangling inches off the ground and her arms pinned to her side; it was like being mashed up against a brick wall.

She looked down to see her headphones on the ground near his feet, "You almost broke my damn headset, what are you doing?"

He never broke eye contact with her as he raised his foot and brought in down slowly over her headphones, crushing them beneath the heel of his training shoes. She jumped at the crunching sound and looked down again, "Hey asshole! Those were fucking expensive, what the _hell_ are you doing. Put me down!"

He just continued to stare at her and she began to get uncomfortable..but not in a bad way. Having him pressed up on her like this was an…interesting…feeling. His scent was so unarguably masculine that it could only be his. It gave her a heady woozy feeling and she found herself unconsciously rubbing her legs against the material of his workout cargos. It created delicious friction…but she was determined to keep herself under control. She had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't dealing with Richard Riddick the man anymore…it was intriguing. There was something about the blank detachedness of his gaze that made her stomach do flip flops. She felt a flush creeping up over her face and the hairs prickle on the back of her neck. And – _oh god, he's not wearing a shirt._

"Do you like being a whore, Jack," he asked. His voice was a silky whisper but his words jerked her from her thoughts abruptly.

"What," she breathed, outraged, "what did you just say to me?" All the good feelings that she had been experiencing moments before evaporated in an instant. "Get off of me. Now."

He just cocked his head to the side and continued to stare. She began to struggle and continued to stare. "I bet you do," he said thoughtfully as if she weren't there in front of him, pressed painfully into his chest, "I bet you love getting on your knees for any man with a dick and a heartbeat."

"WHAT?!Let me GO," she demanded trying to kick his kneecaps. He didn't flinch, he just squeezed her tighter. Now she was really struggling for breath and it had nothing to do with being turned on. That shit hurt!

"Does it make you feel good Jackie," he asked. It almost sounded like her was gently teasing her and she would've thought so if it wasn't for the deadness of his eyes and the fact that her ribs were about two seconds away from puncturing her lungs. "You used to follow me around like a dog in heat," he smiled, "I never knew why until now. You wanted me to fuck you, Jack," he asked mockingly, "you wanted me to be your little boyfriend? I bet you did." He threw back his head laughed. The sound that came out wasn't his usually booming 'HA', it was gravel scraping gravel; nails against a chalkboard... it was the beast.

He lowered his head to her neck and inhaled deeply and she recoiled, "You smell like sex," he growled, " I would take your ass right here on this floor like the whore that you are…" he moved his lips up to her ear," … but I don't take sloppy seconds from any merc."

Jack was numb. She stared at him in disbelief. Her mouth hung open and she didn't even notice the tears that had begun to trickle down her face. He could've ripped her inside out and she wouldn't have noticed.

"You-you bastard," she seethed, face white with rage, "……you _bastard_! How dare you say that shit to me!?"

She was livid and incredibly hurt; but her pain was quickly replaced with hate that she had never known before. In some small part of her mind it surprised her that her hate was aimed towards him of all people – _when did __**that**__ happen?_ – but it surged to the surface nonetheless and she lashed out.

"A_ 'dog in heat' _? _Fuck_ you, Riddick. I _never_ cowed down to you, you stupid motherfucker, I looked up to you; but how stupid of me to look up to a pussy coward like you," she raged against him kicking and bucking.

"You're a _bitch_," she screamed, spit flying in his face, "Carolyn should've left your ass out there to die, you didn't deserve to live then and you sure as hell don't now. You _are_ a fucking monster! I _hate_ –"

She was cut short as Riddick threw her into her treadmill. Her kidney connected with corner of the rail and she bit her tongue hard enough to make it bleed; she grunted in pain before collapsing onto her knees.

"Get up," he commanded. She raised her eyes to him in a defiant glare.

"Get UP!"

She stood shakily wiping the blood from the side of her mouth.

When he stepped towards her she edged into the middle of the room. She crouched down into a defensive stance – a stance that he had taught her – and watched warily as he advanced towards her. If it was a fight he wanted hat was exactly what he was going to get, at that point she couldn't have cared less.

"You gonna fight me little girl," he mocked, cracking his neck to both sides.

She remained silent. He was trying to bait her, to distract her. He wanted her to attack first; but she wouldn't do it. He had trained her not to.

"You have no idea who you're fuckin with."

She cocked her head to the side – a habit she picked up from him. "I know that you're wasting my time, so why don't you shut the fuck up and let's do this."

Their eyes locked and for an insanely disappointing second she thought he was going to back down; but at that moment he struck out at her with lighting speed. He landed a solid punch that would have knocked her unconscious if she hadn't moved with the force of his blow. She hit the floor and rolled before springing back up and delivering a sharp well placed kick to his kidney.

Deep inside her was proud of her agility- but it wasn't time for that now.

Before she could regain her footing he hit her dead in her solar plexus; she flipped herself backwards and landed a bone jarring snap-kick to his jaw before landing gracefully gasping for breath. She came at him then. Feigning a right hook she dodged to the left and delivered an uppercut at the same moment the back of his left hand connected with the side of her face. He didn't pull his hit and she reeled sideways; he stooped low, snatched her right ankle in a vice like grip threw her into the wall on the other side of the gym.

Jacks head made a sick cracking noise against the steel wall and she slid down to the floor. She convulsed once and lay still.

The animal crowed victoriously deep inside Riddick. The rage and aggression of the past ten minutes ripped through his body like a live current. And still Jack hadn't moved. Why wasn't she moving? The adrenaline that had surged through Riddick and fueled the beast continued to flow as he approached her, but a seed of concern had begun to bloom as well. Why wasn't she moving? The hum in the back of his skull that signaled the approach of the beast subsided enough for him to listen carefully. Except for the beating of _his_ heart and the whirring of the still moving treadmill band...the room was silent.

He crouched down beside her, "Get up." She didn't move. Adrenaline had been replaced concern laced with stomach turning fear.

_I can't hear her breathing…what the fuck?_

"Jack get up," he demanded. He reached out a shook her shoulder. And then a sharp coppery scent filled his senses. Blood.

_Oh shit. _

He fell to his knees and pulled her away from the wall and into his lap. As he reached out and turned her head towards him his fingers touched something warm and wet. He pulled his hand back and it glistened crimson with blood. Her blood.

"Jackie, c'mon," he lowered his head to her chest and listened. A heart beat, very faint and fading by the second. "Oh my god," he whispered, pulling her up and hugging her to his chest tightly. He was a collected person by nature, and years of military training and running for his life had only engrained that further into his persona…but when he saw the small puddle of blood on the floor panic overwhelmed him and he could do nothing more than clutch her to him like he was afraid she would fly away.

"C'mon kid…wake up Jackie, wake up," he muttered into her hair, "don't you do this shit."

_What the fuck did I do? Jesus Christ kid, please! _

He picked up her hand and pressed it to his lips. He let it go and it fell lifelessly back down to the floor.

"Oh my god…Jack."


	10. Reconciliation

Farris rolled off the edge of the lower bunk and landed on the floor flat on his back.

"Aww…dammit," he groaned rolling over onto his side. Standing up he stretched, cracked his back and peeked over onto the top bunk. It was empty.

"That's a relief," he muttered to no one in particular. The day he had found out that the infamous Richard B. Riddick was currently the new control operator on his ship had been so hectic that he had completely forgotten that the former operator had been his cabin-mate. It didn't hit him until he had walked back into his room and seen the unpacked bag sitting on the top bunk. _His _bunk.

He didn't sleep that night. Or the next. And for the next week when he actually _did _manage to fall asleep he had had nightmares of waking up and seeing his arms and legs severed and scattered around the room and Riddick sitting at the end of his bed smiling at him.

The past few nights had been a little better for him though. He had actually managed to exchange a few tentative words with his incognito roomie and had found that he wasn't that bad of a guy…a little on the sarcastic side…but not that bad.

_Yeah, except for being a psychotic killer who – according to his rap sheet – has racked up a total of 32 life sentences, _he thought_. Sentences which he would probably kill everyone on this ship to avoid serving. _

Letting Jack off the ship to raise hell in Veros had definitely put him on Davis's shit-list. Personally he couldn't give a shit less, but it meant that he had been receiving the hardest most tedious "housekeeping" jobs around the ship for the past two weeks. In between that, dealing with Jack being an un-holy bitch, and having the galaxy's most wanted felon sleeping four feet above him; Farris was so tense that he was sure if he shoved a piece of coal up his ass he'd have a diamond in two days tops. Shaking his head he decided to head to the galley for a late night snack and then maybe hit the gym and work out some tension.

* * *

Jack lay flat on her back on the gym floor with Riddick sitting hunched over her trying to figure out how to get her to the med bay without risking the rest of the crew noticing him carrying her lifeless body down the halls.

_Fuck the crew,_ the beast roared, _you will __**not**__ let her die. We can have everyone else's blood on our hands…but not her. Not hers._

He prepared to pick her up gently and carry her to the med-bay; and he decided that if anyone tried to get in his way they would be dead before they hit the ground.

He did not notice her palms flattening out on the floor on either side of her body to give her extra leverage. So when her back bucked up of the floor he jerked his head back in surprise and Jacks knee connected solidly with the side of his face. He fell back onto his ass as she let the momentum of her attack flip her backwards. As soon as she was on her hands and knees she pushed herself up onto her feet and kicked him in his thigh as hard as she could.

He grunted but did not retaliate. He didn't even look at her. His eyes remained locked on the small puddle of her blood. She punched him in the face and his lip cut against his teeth, but he did not move. She yelled in frustration and grabbed her towel, heading for the door.

"You were dying," he said.

She stopped and turned towards him. "Wasn't that the point of slamming me into the fucking wall Riddick," she asked venomously.

"Well, wasn't it," she demanded as she pressed her towel to the side of her head to sop up the blood. She hated scalp wounds. Even if they were shallow; the scalp absolutely gushed blood.

"No," he answered as he stood up off the floor.

Her eyebrows shot into her hairline, "Oh no? That's funny because there's a two inch cut in my scalp that says otherwise."

"Not on purpose." He stepped closer to her and she backed away.

"Don't touch me," she said shaking her head, "I know you and I know that you don't make mistakes when you fight."

He seemed to consider this for a moment and then nodded. It hadn't been an accident. He knew exactly what he had been doing. That's what bothered him the most.

He wiped some blood from his lip and looked at it before looking back at her. "Gotta pretty good left hook."

"Yeah."

"C'mere , let me look at that cut," he said walking over to the bench and sitting down.

"Are you for real," she asked incredulously, "you just went all fucking psycho on me...and you expect me to come sit by you?"

"You asked for it," he replied calmly, "you've always like to fuck with that part of me Jack…and now you know what happens when you do."

"You're an asshole."

She started to turn back to the door when he spoke again, "I'm a killer, you know that…but I don't want you dead. Now sit your ass down."

They're eyes met for a long time. She searched his face for any sign that he was playing her, trying to bait her closer so he could do something. She couldn't find any.

_Yeah right, _she told herself_, like you could ever tell what he's thinking. But if he wanted to hurt you again he already would've. _

Finally she just shrugged, walked over and sat Indian style as his feet.

It reminded her of how years ago when he would be sitting on the couch watching the vidscreen, she would sit on the floor by him and lean against his legs. One time she had discreetly tied his shoe laces together and when he got up and tried to take a step he had gone tumbling face first onto the ground, snapping the laces as his legs jerked. She had watched in horror and fascination as his bulk hit the floor and shook the whole cabin. Imam had hollered at them to "stop acting like heathens" but she hadn't even heard him, her eyes were glued to her fallen hero. When he didn't move she began to get worried and crawled over to him; she got about a foot from his arm when it shot and grabbed her ankle in his vice like grip. She had screamed and wrenched her foot from his hand; and when he turned and looked at her with the Big Evil smile on his face she had taken off down the hallway screaming and laughing at the top of her lungs with him bounding after her. Sometimes she had sat there and he would reach down and take a lock of her hair and twirl it around his finger absently. Like he was petting her. Like he would pet a dog…

…_. a dog in heat…_

"You quit breathing," he said as removed the towel.

"Yeah," she replied dryly, "I learned how to control that."

"And your heart?"

"Yup."

He tilted her head onto his knee, "Where'd you learn that?"

She shrugged, "You."

His hands stopped parting her hair for a second, "Me?"

She turned around to look at him, "Yeah. You started to show me before you –ah – had to go. I just continued the training by myself."

"Good."

She turned back around and he began his work again, "It's kinda dangerous for you not to remember all the things you taught me, you know?"

"Oh yeah," he asked reaching underneath the bench for the small first aid kit he'd seen there earlier.

"Yeah, Because I could use it against you someday."

He paused. "Why're you fightin' me so hard, Jack?"

"You called me a stupid bitch."

He nodded once behind her, "You were acting like one."

She tried to scoot away from him but he locked his legs around her, "Stay still."

"Let me go."

He pressed an alcohol pad to the gash on her head and she jumped, "Ahhh…what the hell is wrong with you? That _burns_!_"_

"Does it," he asked absently, "Hmmm."

"Yes. It does," she snapped pushing against his legs in a fruitless effort to get free, "and you done enough of that already." _And not just physically._

"Like I said," he started, "you know you fuckin' asked for it."

"Do I," she interrupted.

"Yeah. You do. You also know that you've been pushing you luck with me since Sona and I suggest you cut that shit out because I'm _not_ one of your little punk ass friends. I _will_ put you in your place…"

"IN MY PLACE…"

"Yes. In. Your. Place. Don't fuck with me Jack."

She sat in silence for a long time before speaking.

"You said I was a dog in heat when I was younger."

"I didn't mean…"

"You also called me a whore."

He remained quiet. She turned around to face him only to see something akin to anger and something she couldn't put a name to.

_Is that ...regret?_

"I'm not his whore, Riddick," she whispered as she turned back around and slumped against his leg, "I'm not. I'm not anyone's whore…don't you ever fucking forget that. I'm not anything to him."

"Why do you fuck him then," he asked tightly.

"I don't," she laughed bitterly, "I just...lay there."

She fell into silence then and Riddick continued to clean her cut. After a while he noticed her shoulders shaking. He wasn't sure if she was laughing or crying but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out. He felt was unsure about this situation, hesitant... and _that_ wasn't a feeling he was accustomed to and it made the beast uncomfortable as hell…which was also unusual. Godammit, this was ridiculous. He was deep in thought about how fucked up his situation was when she started talking again.

"I don't enjoy it you know," she said flatly, she felt so empty it scared her. "He likes it to hurt, I think. Sometimes he makes me tell him stuff, pretend that I like it…but I don't. I only do it to keep my position on this ship. It's a bitch tryin' to get onto a new crew."

She had no idea why she was telling him this, she knew she shouldn't be. But it felt like a dam had burst inside and all the things that had been running through her head flooded out of her mouth before she could stop it.

He was grateful to be sitting behind her. Where she couldn't see him. He wasn't sure how his face looked right then; but he was sure that if reflected how he felt inside…she would be scared. There was no word to describe that feeling. Lividness, rage, wrath, fury…they all fell pathetically short. Murderous was close, but it still didn't do this feeling justice. The thought of that man, that _fuck_, with his hands on her…on her skin…touching her…_hurting_ her. He was going to enjoy killing him.

"You think I'm an idiot for leaving New Mecca, don't you," she asked him as she tried to stand. He put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down.

He had long finished cleaning her cut, but he didn't want to have to look at her right now. Not when he was this angry. Not when he had no idea of what to say to her.

"Jack..." he trailed off not exactly sure how to finish. He was acting like a goddamn teenage boy trying to ask a girl out for the first time and it pissed him off. _How the fuck does she get in my skin like that?_

_"_You always did shit like that," he said slowly as if he were picking his words carefully, " always doin' somethin' that could get you in trouble...drove me fuckin' nuts. But you ain't stupid. I'd call you crazy...but look who's talkin' right?"

"I just wanted to find you, Riddick. I didn't want any of this shit."

"I know it."

"Look," she sighed, leaning her head against the inside of his leg, "I'm tired of fighting with you okay. I've had a pretty fucked up week and I'm sure yours hasn't exactly been all shits and giggles either, so why don't we just call it a night. I could use some rest."

Having her face pressed up against the inside of his upper thigh was doing strange things to his body. Well, not strange, because he knew exactly what was happening. She shifted back again and her head back again and rubbed up against his crotch. He tried to scoot backwards but only succeeded in wacking his head against the wall behind him causing him to curse.

"You okay," she asked relaxing more against him.

"Uh, yeah," he replied awkwardly. _Gotta tell her to move._

But when he looked down to talk to her he found that he had a perfect view down her loose shirt and his words died on his lips. Little beads of sweat had collected in the valley between her breasts; he had the insane urge to lean down and lick them away and he could feel himself stiffening even more. When she reached up to her chest and rubbed the skin right under her neck his breath hitched and he cursed himself for his lack of self control.

Her bra just barely covered her nipples which he knew just had to be rosy pink and he found himself having to clench his fists to keep from just reaching down and finding out for himself.

_This is not the time, this is not the time, this is NOT the motherfucking time. But… damn, is she wearing my tank? Black…well used to be black, about four sizes too big for her…and is that a bullet hole? Yeah that's definitely my shirt. _

For reasons beyond his understanding he found the thought of Jack wearing his clothes incredibly arousing and he could feel himself becoming painfully hard. He tried to close his legs a little to force her head forward but she chose that exact moment to lean her head back fully so she was peering up at him.

_There's no fucking way she didn't feel that, _he thought as he forced himself to look straight ahead avoid her gaze. After a minute had passed and he had accepted the fact that his body had pretty much gone on auto pilot and Jack still hadn't moved her head off of his lap he tilted his head down to look at her. She smirked at him and rubbed her head pointedly against his dick causing him to growl. _That sneaky little bitch! She knows exactly what she's doing._

"Having fun Jack," he asked glaring at her, she only smirked wider. She had felt how he tensed up when she put her head on his thigh and had decided to have a little fun. When she had touched her chest and his breath hitched she knew that A) he was watching her and B) she was having the same affect on him as he had had on her for years. It was quite empowering and intoxicating. She had never been attracted to anyone as much as him, and the fact that she was sitting there with her head in between his legs aroused her to the point where she was willing to go out on a limb.

"I could ask you the same question," she replied sweetly, reaching her hands up behind her to run them up the insides of his thighs, "but I think I know the answer."

_I can't believe I'm doing this, _she giggled in her head…she was really quite giddy- _I can't believe he's __**letting**__ me do this._

"What d'ya think you're doin', kid," he questioned grabbing her hands in his.

She yanked her hands down, "I'm not a child anymore Riddick," she growled, "I haven't been a little kid for a long goddamn time. Why can't you get that through your head?"

"I know you're not a kid," he dragged his eyes up her legs and hips and came to rest on the mounds of soft flesh peeking up at him through her shirt, "that's pretty fuckin' obvious."

"Good."

"But Davis.,." He trailed off. He half expected her to relent to this; but instead she lifted herself up and turned so she was on her knees in front of him and ran her palm lightly over the head of his erection while she looked him dead in the eye, "Fuck Davis."

By now he was so hard that when she gripped him lightly he nearly came on the spot. He had never wanted a woman so bed in his life. Ever. And the fact that it was Jack, _his_ Jack, kneeling there in front of him – _**WILLINGLY**_ – looking like some kind of fallen angle with a blood spattered neck and a halo of unruly brown hair only made it better.

"You do not want to play games with me, Jackie," he whispered seductively in her ear as he stilled her hands, "you'll never win. Trust me."

She quirked an eyebrow. He was challenging her and she wasn't about to back down. The energy practically sizzled in the room and she fed off of it.

"S'that a challenge?" Her voice was thick with hunger and it made his blood boil.

"That's a fact."

He watched as her nipples hardened to the point that he could see them through her shirt. A nagging voice in the back of his mind told him that this was wrong, that he was getting in over his head doing this. He told the voice to shut the fuck up. She was here willingly and after spending the better half of two weeks on this ship with her it was apparent that she wasn't 'kid' anymore. The way she moved, the way she talked, her curves, that _scent_...no...she was 100 percent woman if he had ever seen one. And he had seen lots. But none as perfect the one kneeling in front of him right then.

Jack was shivering with the sheer intensity of the moment. She really couldn't believe she was doing these things, acting this way…with _him_. No more than twenty minutes before they had been trying to kill each other and now she was kneeling in front of him, more turned on than she had been in her entire life.

He leaned forward so that he was directly in her face, looking straight in her eyes. His face was inches from hers and she could feel his breath fan over her face and chest. She could find nothing in his eyes. He was waiting for her to begin it; she was determined not to let him down.

Leaning in so that their lips barely touching she slowly pulled his bottom lip into her mouth and sucked it gently. His lips still had a hit of the apple he had eaten earlier and that combined with his natural heady flavor blew her mind. Soon she found herself greedily sucking and kissing his lips, occasionally nibbling when she felt like it. Riddick ,in the mean time was doing everything in his power to keep still and not throw her down onto the work out mat. She stopped and panted against his mouth for a second before pulling back to look at him as if to say 'your turn'.

This time there was definitely something in his eyes. Contacts or not she saw the desire written there plain and clear. She had only a moment to breathe before he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her to him in a scorching kiss. His tongue slipped into her mouth danced with hers as he twisted his fingers into her hair . He licked slowly along the roof of her mouth and growled when she giggled and then moaned into his. Pulling her closer to him, he smoothed one hand down the side of her body and around the curve of her ass and squeezed.

She couldn't help the shudder that racked her and he smiled against her lips, "Like that?"

"Mmm," she replied. He leaned down to get on the floor with her, but was stopped by her hand on his chest. "Stay there…I've always wanted to do this…to you," she breathed, blushing slightly. He raised one eyebrow but said nothing. At this point Jack could've done anything she wanted to and it would've been fine with him. She pulled herself up off the floor, closed his legs with her hands and straddled his knees. She then scooted herself forward until she sat with her legs on either of his hips; he was beyond hard and when his dick brushed up against the apex of her thighs she felt a white hot bolt of pleasure shoot through her. Her eyes fluttered shut and she did it again. And again. And again until he grabbed her waist with both hands, forcing her to stop. "Don't."

He pointed his finger at her and she looked at him almost shyly becoming leaning forward and sucking that finger into her mouth as she twirled her tongue around it. All the air was slammed from his lungs as her groan of satisfaction vibrated up his arm. The image of his finger disappearing between those pouty kiss swollen lips was quite possibly the sexiest damn thing he'd ever seen. Lust so powerful swam through his body that his vision blurred a little and he had to lower his head and close his eyes for a moment. "Goddamn, Jack."

Part of him wanted nothing more than to press her face down into the floor and slam into her until she screamed and pleaded for release. He wanted to bite into the soft skin of her back and lick up the drops of blood that formed there; and when he had emptied his load once, he would flip her over onto her back and begin again. The beast wanted to see bruised, cut and bloody and covered in his sweat in cum. THEY would beat her, fuck her and force her into submission. THEY would know her soul. Then she would be theirs. The animal was so close to the surface that Riddick could feel his grip tightening on her waist.

_No. Not like that. Not with her._

He forced those thoughts from his mind and distracted himself with devouring her neck. He kissed and bit and licked her along the neckline of her shirt and was rewarded by Jack thrusting her hips against him in response. The smell of her arousal was so strong to him he wasn't sure if he could stand it much longer. She was so damn uninhibited that it shamed him. Most of the women he had been with had been paid to lie underneath him and take it until he was finished. There was no passion in them, no hunger. But the way Jack was writhing around in his lap as if she were hooked up to a live wire had him thinking that if she could, she would devour him whole. And even if she couldn't …she would damn sure try.

He trailed his hands up her stomach and even though he tried he couldn't stop himself from caressing her breasts firmly as he tormented her taut nipples with his thumbs. He half way expected for her to recoil, maybe even get mad…but she pushed against him face twisted in agonized pleasure, "Oh god…Riddick."

The moment his name left her lips, all breathy and desperate like she was about to come right there, it was game over for him. He felt the familiar hum that always signaled the beast before it tore its way to the surface. But instead of starting in the back of his skull, the vibration started at the base of his dick and before it had even reached the head on his shoulders he had ripped off her shirt and pushed her onto her back on the mat ready to fuck her until she couldn't remember who she was when the door to the gym slid began to slide open.

Jack and Riddick flew apart as Farris strode in humming to himself. When he spotted them his mouth dropped. "Ho-ly shit."

"Farris," she shrieked, as she snatched her tattered shirt off the floor, "close the goddamn door."

His eyes never left them as he reached behind him and pressed the handpad. "Ho-ly SHIT!" He glanced between an irate Jack who was currently wrenching her hair back into a ponytail and Riddick who stood there silently, staring back at him.

"What the fuck are you doing here," she demanded angrily. She was beyond frustrated. She had been this close, THIS close to coming undone right there in Riddick's lap and Farris had fucked that up for her. Riddick was frustrated too, but more than that he was angry at himself for being so careless. He had gotten too caught up in her. The way she felt and tasted; had someone else walked into the room they could both be in serious shit.

"What am _I _doing," he asked incredulously, "what are _**you**_ doing? And what happened to your _face_? Are you okay?Forget that...are you fuckin' nuts? Anyone coulda walked in here Jack…and I mean…well… SHIT."

She pointed at him threateningly and put on her best 'I-will-beat-you-to-within-an-inch-of-your-life-if-you-fuck-up face. "Keep your mouth shut Farris…"

"Oh yeah," he snapped back waving his hands in the air for dramatics, "because I'm really let it slip that I walked in on you and Riddick getting – oh shit." He clapped his hands over his mouth.

Riddick slowly turned to look at her and she shrunk down a little, smiling guiltily, "Oops."

Riddick sighed, shook his head, whipped his shiv out from behind his back and advanced on Farris who backed up rapidly looking terrified.

"Wait," she yelled jumping in between them and holding up her hands defensively, "he's not a threat, Riddick."

He effortlessly swept her aside, "Not taking that chance." She hung onto his arm and swung herself back in front of him, "He's my friend."

He continued walking.

"Riddick STOP! He can help us!" She didn't know why she said it, or what they even needed help with…she just didn't want Farris to end up with a shiv in the gut.

Riddick stopped and looked down at Jack who had her hands planted on his chest, "You trust this guy?"

"Yes. I do." She held no hesitation in her eyes or voice and for Riddick that was good enough…for now.

_But still…_

He nodded and pushed past her again, holding up his hand to silence her protests. When he was a foot away from the man who was now shrinking down the door he stopped.

"You know what sodium hydroxide; drain cleaner – like the kind they keep in the maintenance locker – does when it's swallowed, Farris," he asked conversationally, "pretty nasty shit. It burns up your throat, your lungs. Then you start to puke up piece of your stomach. The eyes burn up from the inside out. Blood vessels bust all up…you bleed out. Die slowly. And you can't even scream for help because by then your vocal cords have been melted."

Now it was Jacks turn to be happy that Riddick couldn't see her. She wasn't angry or frightened…she was kinda turned on. Seeing Riddick in full on intimidating-bad-ass mode made her hot. She felt a rush of wetness when Riddick turned around and gave her a knowing smirk over his shoulder before returning to Farris.

"We clear?"

"Perfectly," Farris gulped, eyes never leaving the shiv held in front of him.

Suddenly the intercom on the wall crackled to life and Riley's voice called out of it, "Hey Jack, wherever you are; Davis said to get your happy ass down to engine room and fix whatever's muckin' up the thrusters. Now."

She walked over to the intercom and pressed the send button, "Got it."

Sighing she turned around to face the two men who were now staring at her. Farris smirking, Riddick frowning. "Gotta run," she said to Riddick as he approached her. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "We need to talk. Later." She nodded and suppressed the shiver that rushed up her spine as his breath fanned against her neck and down her tied together shirt.

She brushed past Farris who whispered, "I want to hear _everything_." She ducked her head and snorted in laughter, "You know he can hear you right?" And then sprinted off down the hallway intent on taking a shower before getting back to work.

Farris turned back to gym and was met with an amused – but deadly serious looking – Riddick. " I'm sure you'll get all the details," he said as he pulled on his shirt and began walking towards the door. Farris stepped aside but then changed his mind and grabbed his arm as he passed. Riddick stopped, looked at Farris's hand and then back at his now grim face.

"That girls been through hell and back," he said seriously, "she worked damn hard to get her head right…don't you fuck that up and hurt her."

Riddick jerked his arm out of the mans grip and continued to walk, "I'd be worried about myself if I were you."

"She's my friend," Farris snapped back angrily, "I care about her and I don't give a shit who you are, I'm going to look out for her. What is she to you anyways?"

Riddick stopped and seemed to consider this for a moment before turning back to Farris with a mysterious look on his face. "She's mine."

It was that simple, he realized. All those years she'd always been his, he was just too damn stubborn to accept it. Sure, he'd grudgingly admitted a long time ago that he had a soft-spot for the kid; but possession wasn't a term that he'd considered appropriate for a relationship between a fourteen year old girl and man in his mid-twenties. Now he realized that's exactly what it had been. He just needed to give her time to grow up. And damn had she grown.

_Maybe I won't take her back to New Mecca right away, _he thought as he entered his cabin and hauled himself up onto the top bunk that he'd stolen from Farris_, maybe I'll keep her around for a while. Been a while since I traveled with someone. If she wants. _

He concentrated on inhaling and exhaling until finally he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

On the lower level of the ship, the small stuffy room directly next to the holding room where captured cons and smugglers were detained served as Davis's personal office. That "night" he had awoke to find his bed empty – it didn't bother him in the least. In fact it was a good thing; he had some business to do.

He, Gerod and Riley sat cramped around his beat up metal desk taking shots of whiskey and talking about the particulars of their next run.

"Got a readin' of vessels in our general area a couple hours ago," Davis said propping his feet up on the desk, "only turned up four. And two of 'em are shitty little skiffs probably out for a short run, so they're not even worth it."

"There ain't shit in this sector," Riley replied as he pulled his dreds back into a ponytail, "we're in the middle of fuckin' nowhere."

"Quit bitchin'," Davis snapped taking a swig, "we still got better than three weeks to secure more merchandise before we hit Trelios. That's not why I dragged your asses down here anyways. Couple'a days ago I get this transmission from Jagrian. He's Counsel contracted too, but his crew does runs for the Semorian family on the side…"

"Semorian," Gerod interrupted, "isn't that the ring that runs the slave trade in the Zef sector?"

"Yeah," Riley laughed, "they run for the young ones too. Boys, I think."

"Who gives a shit what they run for," Davis cut in impatiently, " the point is this: Jagrian sends me this message on my com – my _personal_ com – and starts in on this shit about how he thinks that the Counsel is starting to suspect that some of its contracted crews are runnin' for smugglers and slave traders under the table…"

"Who? Us? Naww…," Riley interrupted again, joking.

Davis slammed his shot glass down onto the desk, "You think this shit is a joke," he demanded, "Jag say that the Counsel has started check every single fucking station that contracted ships have registered docking at for copies of the cargo and passenger manifest. They've started to audit financial logs…do you fucking get it? He told me that last week his cousin Samiel and the rest of his crew got sentenced to life on Ursa Luna for kidnapping, theft, murder…you name it, without any fucking trial! They just threw their asses in the slam to rot."

Gerod like out a low whistle, "Ho-ly shit. What're we going to do?"

Davis took a long swallow before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, "Dunno, but I _do_ that the Counsel is gonna be lookin' to throw _someone_ in the can…and I can tell you one thing: when the shit hits the fan, _I _ain't gonna be nowhere near it."

"Who's gonna be," Riley asked nervously. He had known Davis for fifteen years and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was the kind of man who would slit his own mother's throat to keep out of slam.

Davis smirked at them and pointed a finger up towards the level above them, "Who do you think?"

* * *

Thanks to those who've been R&R'ing! Comments and suggestions are always welcome (and pretty useful too)...let me know how you like this chapter ok!

-A.P.


	11. Severet

**( A/N : Ok, so this takes place two weeks after Jack and Riddick's fight in the gym.)**

* * *

Jack crept quickly and silently down the dark corridors, rapidly clenching and relaxing her hands as she tried to control the unease coursing through her body. Rounding the corner she slipped her gauge from its holster, flicked off the safety and cocked it. The corridors were pitch black save for the flashing of the red alarm lights. Steam billowed through the holes in the steel mesh walkways over the engine room, and for a moment she was temporarily blinded. In that instant a lead pipe connected squarely with her face and her head rocked back on her neck.

Blood gushed from the gash above her eyebrows and she slumped down against the cold wall trying to remain conscious. A second later the pipe smashed into her kneecap and she heard something crack. Bellowing in agony she threw herself away from the wall and raised the gauge once more. As she stumbled down the hallway all she could hear was the frenzied beating of her own heart and the clanking and clanging of metal pipes in the engine room below her. Blinking blood out of her eyes, she slammed her way through a small door to her left and, after making sure she was alone, she quickly shut and latched it behind her as she slid down against the wall gasping in pain.

This wasn't how things were supposed to happen. It was supposed to be an in and out job.

The crew of the _Ishtar_ had stumbled upon this huge shit-shape shipping vessel – _The Severet_ – almost four hours ago. Davis had almost instantly called it in as a 'runner'– a ship that carted black market or stolen goods – and the crew suited up. Two hours later they had initiated contact, immobilized, and then boarded the other ship via their retractable terminal walkway which connected to a portal in the _Severet's_ hangar bay. That's when everything went straight to hell.

This was deep space. Most crews with more than five or six people entered cryo-sleep in order to conserve rations; so except for escaped cons – who ran solo and were always on the move – and the mercs who tracked them…deep space was a dead place, traveled by ships whose crew and passengers were locked away in cryo-sleep for weeks or months at a time.

Whenever they had taken on live crews there had been eight or nine at the most. They never expected a ship this humongous – at least five times the size of theirs – to have a live crew…Davis never even ordered a heat- sensory scan. But they had been awake…all of them…

…_and they had been __**waiting**__ for us._

Jack could tell as soon as they stepped onto the dead quiet ship that something was wrong, and from the look on Riddick's face she knew he had felt it too. They left Farris to guard the terminal and set off looking for the crew of alleged smugglers. No more than fifteen minutes had passed before they realized their mistake. The cryo-bay was empty and so were the gun racks in the next room. That's when the shooting started. Her team was scattered in the hail of bullets and she had spent the next hour running blind through the complex of twisted corridors in the mammoth shipping vessel. She had only come across three people so far, but they were all dead now.

Jack swiped blood from her face, pulled a little tube of liquid stitches out of her pocket and smeared the burning liquid over the gash in her head.

She looked down and saw the blinking light on her comm- unit.

_Shit, Farris._

He had to be in deep trouble to be paging her for help.

She hauled herself up of the floor and gingerly put some weight on her battered knee, choking back tears as pain lanced up through her thigh and into her chest.

Whoever attacked her was still out there. She couldn't hear him, and she definitely couldn't see him…but she knew he was out there waiting for her. She was injured and he probably thought she was down so he was going to wait until she felt sure enough to leave the relative safety of the utility closet. And then he would hit her with something that she couldn't recover from. It would be game over. Hell, it's what _she _would do.

Gripping her gauge in one hand she slowly opened the door and slid out into the darkness of the hallway. Sure enough, the moment she had moved into the corridor he was on her. Dodging his punches, Jack threw herself against the opposite wall, leveled her gun at him at shot him in the hand.

The force swung him around and he collapsed onto his knees cradling his hand and screaming.

Jack straightened and limped up behind him; gun extended, finger on the trigger.

"Move again and I'll blow your head off," she said firmly as she reached behind her to unclasp the handcuffs she carried on her belt.

"Hands behind your neck."

After cuffing him she patted him down and took a small dagger and some cred chips from his pockets while he glared at her. She had to admit he didn't really look like the smuggling type. Most in that business were young men, in shape, sharp…but this man was at least sixty pounds overweight, balding, and probably twice her age.

"To the galley," she demanded, "and no bullshit from you either."

"You fuckin' people aren't gonna get away with this forever," he snarled as she pulled him to his feet and told him to walk.

"Oh yeah," she asked unconcerned. Cons always talked shit when they were picked up. It was always the same song and dance. Threats, bribes, pleas of innocence…she'd seen and heard it all.

"The Counsel," he spat at her, "you fuckers think the Counsel won't catch you? You think people don't know?!" He tried to twist violently form her grip but she clipped him in the back of the head with the butt of her gun and he stumbled forward.

"We are the Counsel," she said tapping her badge as she pushed him forward. All she wanted to do was secure this runner and get back to their ship.

As she rounded the corner into the expansive galley shots rang out from across the room and she instinctively dropped to the ground and rolled.

Goddamn she hated not having home advantage.

Her prisoner slumped to the ground next to her with blood soaking through holes in his work coveralls. She scooted around the corner and watched as a group of men jumped from their hiding place behind the galley booths and started cautiously towards her.

She was fucked. There was no way she could run back down that corridor, not on her busted knee. She pressed the emergency page button on her comm. rapidly and then sat back against the wall and waited. She figured she could take down three with her gauge…maybe another two with the shiv. Maybe. That's if they didn't just shoot her first.

_Which is exactly what they're gonna fuckin' do_, she thought.

"C'mon," she groaned as she held the comm. up to her mouth and willed someone – preferably Riddick – to answer theirs. It seemed an eternity before her call was answered.

"Jack?" His voice came quietly through the comm. She could hear the throbbing sound of pulse guns and the metallic ping of ricocheting bullets in the background, but he sounded fine and she exhaled in relief.

"In the corridor starboard to the galley," she whispered frantically, "I need help…fast."

She heard the sound of breaking bones, a grunt and then a thump of a body hitting the floor. And then the connection went dead.

"Riddick," she squeaked as she gripped the comm, "…what happened? Riddick?!"

She shoved the comm. into her pocket, cocked her gun and sat back against the wall.

The first man came around the corner and didn't notice her sitting low in the shadows. She shot him in the face and he reeled backwards.

_One._

Another one followed and had she been standing the pulse shot he sent down the hallway would've blown a hole right through her chest. He got a bullet through the neck before he could get another shot off.

_Two._

She was a damn good shot and it would buy her some time as the rest of the crew was now wary to round the corner.

_C'mon Riddick_, she thought as she cocked her gun once again, _get your ass down here._

By the flashing of the red emergency lights Jack watched as four armed men in the same work jumpsuits turned the corner. She scrunched down further into the shadows and pulled out her shiv. She only had one shot left and firing would only reveal her position. She was going to have to wait until they were right on her and then take her chances in hand-to-hand combat.

And then everything went black.

Someone rushed past her in her dark heading towards the galley and she flattened herself against the wall even more.

She spent the next minute completely and utterly blind, surrounded by the sound of pulse fire, screams, metal scraping bone and the thuds of bodies falling to the ground. Once she thought she heard faint laughter but she wasn't sure.

Finally after listening to the gurgling crunching sound of what she was sure was someone's larynx being crushed, there was complete silence save for the distant sound of gunfire and her own ragged breathing.

Feeling her way down the hallway she stopped when her foot hit what was the unmistakable heap of a dead body. She stuck her blade back into her belt and whipped out her flashlight, turned it on and whirled around the corner into the galley.

Riddick was standing there looking at the body by his feet. He slowly raised a hand to shield his eyes, but she saw the little smile that played around his lips as he surveyed the work that only he could see. When he finally looked at her she saw the sliver flash of his eyes and clicked off the flashlight so it wouldn't hurt him.

"You got here fast," she breathed edging closer, "how'd you kill the lights?"

She heard the sound of leather scraping steel and she knew he had put away his blade, "You're hurt."

"I'm fine," she smiled, more than a little pleased at the concern that snuck into his voice, "We need to get the fuck off this runner."

She felt rather than saw him nod, "Can you walk on that leg?"

She tried to put more weight on it but pitched forward as rockets of pain shot up her leg. He caught her shoulders and pulled her up against her and she gratefully leaned in wrapping her arms around his waist. His shirt was soaked and when she flicked on her light she saw that her hand, shoulder arm and chest were stained red. His shirt was soaked in blood.

Immediate concern flooded her and she began pulling his shirt up checking for wounds. He smiled softly and grabbed her hands, "It's not mine, kid."

"You're not hurt at all," she questioned peering at him through the darkness.

She caught a faint defiant glow from his liquid silver eyes, "By these motherfuckers," he scoffed, "….gimme a break."

Her comm. vibrated once more against her leg and she suddenly remembered that Farris had been in trouble.

"Have you seen Farris," she asked retrieving a gun from one of the fallen crew, "I've been getting emergency pages."

"No," he said slipping his contacts back in, "been held up in the cargo bay the whole time."

She shown the flashlight over the galley and discovered that there was no way she would've been able to take the rest of the people holed up in here, there were at least six more that she had never seen. She turned to watch as Riddick went to each of the bodies and slipped I.D. tags from around their necks.

"If you're thinkin' about using their tags to set up aliases, you can forget it," she said shaking her head, "once Davis turns in the crew log with the retrieved property…they'll all be put in the system."

He gave her a look which most people would've thought was angry, but she knew he was thinking, "Cargo bay's full of thrust stabilizers for star-jumping," he said, "… that's some pretty expensive shit ."

He stood and shoved the I.D. tags into the pockets of his cargo pants, "What'd Davis tell you he was gonna do with the swag from this runner?"

She shrugged. "He takes Gerod and Riley with him to return it to the planets Counsel embassy…why?"

"And the perps? He takes them too? " He made no effort to hide the suspicion in his voice from her, and she found herself becoming more and more uncomfortable.

"Uh yeah," she said, "usually…sometimes we have to keep them locked up in the cryo-lockers until we find a station that can hold them."

"You go with him?" There. Right there he was openly interrogating her. Instead of pissing her off it just furthered the sense of extreme unease she had felt since setting foot on this ship.

"No, just Gerod and Riley…" she replied warily, "what's with all the fuckin' questions?"

He stepped out of the flashlights beam and once more melded with the darkness, "Later…we need to get back to the hangar bay…now."

He effortlessly hoisted her over his shoulder, handed her a gauge and took off in a dead run.

When they reached the door of the hangar bay he slid her off his shoulder and whispered for her to wait for him to come back.

She felt ashamed at the instant rush of suspicion and pain that spiked through her…he had told her that once before in a very similar situation; and had it not been for Carolyn he would've left her to die. He seemed to sense her distrust because he turned back towards her and cupped her face in one of his large hands, "Not this time." And then he was gone.

Jack leaned against a crate in the corner, cursing her busted leg. She should be out there fighting; she wasn't some goddamn damsel in distress.

_I could be helping him_, she thought furiously although another part of her argued that being out there fighting on one leg would be a liability to him as he would be worried about covering both their asses.

Sitting there in the dark it occurred to her just how much had changed in the past three weeks. Not only had Riddick showed up to find her, but he had come to treat her as a woman. She wasn't sure she'd call what they had a "relationship"…but whatever it was she liked it. During the short moments they managed to steal away from the rest of the crew he had begun talking to her. It hadn't taken much pressure from him to get her to agree to leave with him after they hit Trelios. She had conceded on the condition that she could run with him for a while; and after promising – with fingers crossed – that she would do as he said if they ran together he had agreed.

She couldn't help but sense that it pleased him no matter how annoyed he tried to act. He was by no means romantic, and saying he was nice to her would be pushing it…but he definitely treated her differently. He had become affectionate in his own way; brushing her hair behind her ear when it got unruly, letting her tease him about his crew cut in private, and once he even came down to the engine room to help her work while everyone else slept.

The fact that she was still obligated to share Davis's bed seemed to irritate him to the point where he refused to talk about her relationship with him. She knew in her gut that Davis wasn't about to just let her walk away. He wasn't that type of man, she knew he thought her life was to be lived on his terms; she wondered if Riddick would have to kill him.

"Jack, c'mere."

His voice startled her out of her thoughts. Flicking her flashlight back on she pushed herself out of the corner and limped over to the walkway terminal where he stood with his back to her. As she stumbled over a couple bodies on the ground she was forcefully reminded of just how dangerous he was.

These people had been crouching here in the dark waiting to ambush her crew and she'd never even known they were here. She knew he couldn't see them with his contacts; but he had been able to hear them, feel them, _smell_ them…they probably didn't even know what hit them.

Coming up behind him she noticed the code pad that opened the door to the walkway terminal had been busted and he was trying to pry open the door with a slim metal beam. Someone had tried to make sure that wouldn't be able to leave. These people were more than afraid of being caught…it was like they were angry…like they were fighting back. She knew people would pull some amazing things to avoid prison – the prime example of that stood less than three feet from her – but this…_this_ was something else. The thought made her shudder.

"This ain't right," he growled as he threw her beam aside and ripped the door open with his hands, "market runners would've blown us all to shit the second we set foot in the fuckin' hangar bay."

"What do you mean," she questioned crossing her arms over her chest.

"Davis is pullin' some shit," he said darkly as her turned towards her, "this ain't a black market ship…"

He trailed off.

She felt her stomach turn to stone as his eyes narrowed dangerously. And then the sound of a safety being clicked off came from right behind her.

She whirled around and found herself staring straight down the barrel of a fully charged pulse gun; she fought the urge to duck and cover her face and raised her hands in the air_._

"D- don't move," the young man stammered as he jammed the gun up underneath her jaw and jerked her around so her back was against his chest, "don't you fuckin' move!"

"I'd let her go," Riddick warned as he slowly raised his hands.

"Shut up," the boy demanded pulling Jack with him as her backed up, "just sh-shut up. I'll shoot her. I swear I will. Get away from the terminal."

Riddick didn't move.

"I said get away from the fucking door!" He thumped the barrel against her temple.

Riddick stepped to the side, smirking slightly. It seemed to unnerve the boy who kept his flashlight and gun trained on Riddick.

He stumbled backwards with her until he reached a fuse box on the wall; ripping it open he flicked a couple switches and a dull yellow light from high above flickered to life.

"Riddick," Jack warned shaking her head; she could feel the hammering of the boy's heart and knew that in his panicked state he was liable to be pretty damn trigger happy. Riddick, however, slowly began sidestepping the bodies on the floor. Jack realized that he was about to make a move, but unfortunately so did the crew member and he tightened his hold on her.

He ripped her head backwards and shoved the gun into her neck and she gasped in pain as his fingers pulled hair from her scalp.

"I said stop _moving_," the man screamed into her ear, spraying her neck with spit. His arm flexed around her neck and she was forced to stand on her tiptoes to draw breath.

Riddick froze and the boy seemed to relax, but from the look on his face Jack could tell that the boy had very likely just made the biggest mistake in his soon-to-be-over life.

"Now get on the floor," he demanded pointing his gun at Riddick.

He was pulling her hair so hard that the gash on her forehead began to tear apart all over again and blood began to run into her eyes.

Riddick's eyes never left hers as he lowered himself onto his stomach; it seemed as if he was going to lock his hands behind his head but as she watched him he inclined his head slowly to the left. He was going for a blade. She nodded minutely and prepared to duck to the side when a terrific bang resounded throughout the room; the door to the right of them blew in and they were all thrown like ragdolls.

As if in slow motion Davis and Farris ran through the smoke into the room with guns drawn, shooting at people behind them. The boy lay still as death five feet from her; but the steel door which had fallen on top of Riddick began to stir, Jack lunged for him but her foot was pinned beneath a crate and she fell onto her face.

Smoke clogged the air and she could hear nothing but shrill ringing in her ears. Sparks flew from the exposed wire in the ceiling and the ship shuddered uncontrollably. In the back of her mind she was surprised the hull integrity hadn't been compromised by all of the gunfire and explosions, but as she saw Riddick making his way over to her all she could think about was how they were going to get out of there.

They had come totally unprepared for this fight.

The weight of the crate was gone and she felt herself being pulled into a pair of strong arms as he kneeled behind her. Pulling her up to him he checked her for fractures and serious wounds before making sure that her eyes were focused. She assured him she was fine and began to rise with him when his eyes widened and he spun her around shielding her with his arms and chest.

The blast of the pulse gun sent the two hurtling backwards until her legs caught on debris and they tumbled to the ground where she was half pinned beneath his bulk. Groaning she cracked open her eyes to see him staring at her with a slightly dazed look on his face.

"Jack," he wheezed trying and failing to get up, "Jack?"

"Riddick," she breathed, "are you hit?"

She placed her hand on his back and he let out a strangled cry of pain.

And then the boy appeared in front of them, smoke wafting from the barrel of the gun clutched in his hands. He hesitated; and in that second she snatched the shiv from Riddick's belt and sent it flying into his chest. He looked at her surprised as blood spilled from his mouth and he sank to his knees gasping, but her attention was focused on the man on top of her.

He was struggling for breath as blood bubbled from between his lips. His chest heaved and twitched as she bodily rolled him off of her and onto his side. Across the battle to escape continued; but her eyes remained on him. The sickening smell of burning human flesh filled her nostrils as she rolled to her knees beside him and peered over his back. Her heart froze. His back was a mangled mess of ripped up flesh, burnt skin and fabric, blood and debris from the ceiling. The back of his shirt had been incinerated, the back of his head had been burned bald again and the flesh of his right shoulder was blistered red. The flesh on his left shoulder was gone. Charred bone peeked up at her from the tattered remains of his back.

Blood gushed from the left side of his neck where the flesh had melted away, exposing muscles and throbbing arteries.

She stared in disbelief until his choked breathing brought her back.

_Focus, Jack ,_she scolded herself_, you need to get him out of here._

Over his shoulder she saw a woman from the ship run up with an axe in her hand, but Jack rolled to the side, grabbed the gauge from the dead boys hand and shot her in the chest. More people rushed through the doorway and Davis sprayed the crowd with bullets forcing them back.

She brought herself down so she was looking in his eyes and even though her heart was slamming against her chest she forced herself to sound calm, "Riddick, listen to me … you're okay," she lied as she made to help him up, "but we need to get you to the med bay, right now."

"Run," he gasped clutching at her hand. More than anything else, the sound of helplessness in his voice scared her. She shook her head furiously. He was never helpless...he couldn't be down. Not now.

"No," she said, more to herself than anyone else.

"There's too many of them," Gerod screamed over the racket to Davis who was busy reloading his gun, "we're outta ammo Davis! We gotta go!"

"Jack," he demanded. "Go."

She shook her head and continued half-dragging him through the room, "We're almost there. Keep moving. Just keep moving. Please keep moving."

"Get – out," he rasped into her ear, trying to pull away, "go …"

He choked as a fresh torrent of blood poured from his mouth and she stopped until he could breathe again. He pulled the tangle of tags out of his pocket as an explosion from above rocked the room and she could hear the groan of twisting metal.

In her head she repeated the mantra: _get back to the ship, get back to the ship, get back to the ship…_

"Shut up and walk," she pleaded wrapping her arms tighter around his waist as he sunk to his knees. "Just keep walking. Please, Riddick, please… you gotta keep moving."

"Get...the fuck out," he roared spraying her with his blood as he wrenched himself from her grasp and rolled onto his side once more. He took her face in his hands, "Please, Jack," he whispered now closing his eyes, "run".

"Please," she sobbed putting her head on his chest, "you can't do this. Riddick please."

"Sorry, kid." It was barely a whisper. His hands dropped from hers and he was still.

Across the room Riley was sprawled across a crate bleeding from his ears, but Farris, Gerod and Davis had managed to block the doorway to the hangar bay; she could hear the shouts from the crew on the other side. She however couldn't care less. Her body felt like someone had injected Freon straight into her veins.

_No. No, no, no! _

Her mouth gaped open and closed but no sound came out. She had to force herself to inhale and exhale and finally sound burst from her mouth in a ragged cry.

"Get _up_! You have to get up! Get up! Get up now!"

He remained silent as her world crumbled around her ears.

A firm hand on her shoulder pulled her away from Riddick's lifeless body. She whipped around and pushed Farris away from her shaking her head.

"No," she choked, "no don't…don't touch me."

He edged closer. "Listen to me," he whispered, "Jackie, we need to go."

"Don't fuckin' touch me," she growled, glaring at him through her tear soaked lashes.

"There's too many of them," Gerod yelled as he slung Riley over his shoulder, "we've gotta get outta here!"

"Get to the terminal," Davis yelled from the door where he had barred the door with a beam of steel.

"Jack please," Farris pleaded pulling on her arm.

"I'm not leaving him here," she snarled rounding on him.

"Jack…," he tugged on her arm again.

"I'm not leaving him," she shrieked as she slapped Farris full across the face before turning back to Riddick.

"We don't have time!" Looking over his shoulder Farris saw the last door between them and the rest of the crew start to buckle.

"I'm sorry kid," he whispered. Setting his pulse gun to its lowest level he stepped back and shot her. He rushed to catch her and throw her over his shoulder before she hit the ground.

The ship shuddered violently once more, the sound of screeching metal filled the air.

"Farris get your ass up here," Davis shouted from the terminal.

Farris spared one last look at Riddick's lifeless body and then turned and ran with Jack through the closing door.


	12. Her Requiem

"She's been out of it for damn near four days. What're the damn med-scan reading's?"

"Vital signs are all normal. Brain wave activity is a little high though, it's like she's in R.E.M sleep or something."

"What the fuck are you talking about R.E.M sleep? Her eyes are wide open."

Jacqueline al Walid – formerly Eileen Jacqueline Kaufmann – lay underneath the cool crisp sheets of one of the examination tables in the med-bay of the _Ishtar_, eyes wide open and apparently dead to the world.

She was completely unresponsive. Her pupils contracted as Farris shown a light into them, but she did not blink. Her knee jerked when he tested her reflexes, but she showed no pain as he prodded her foot with a small pin. She didn't eat, she didn't drink, she didn't speak, she didn't move. Tears welled in her eyes, but only to protect them from drying out.

She was, in fact, wide awake but terrified to move lest she break into a million little pieces and be sucked up into the air vents. She was sure that if she were to open her mouth and speak she would end up screaming until her lungs collapsed. No, it was much better if she lay there – perhaps forever – under the fluorescent lights and let the med-computer run its tests.

She listened to the whirring of the computers, the hum of the lights, the beeping of the heart monitor, and to the sound of Farris arguing quietly with Davis in the corner.

"Look godammit, we're already working with half a crew and I need my damn mechanic. I don't know what the fuckin' problem is," Davis swore throwing her medical printout into Farris's chest, "but you're the goddamn medic…fix her!" He stormed out of the med bay, slamming the door behind him.

"Fucking prick," Farris muttered under his breath. She heard him slamming cabinets in the med-bay's small lavatory but she didn't dare turn her head to see what he was doing. A few minutes later he rolled a chair up to her bed and pulled the curtain closed, separating her bed from Riley's, who had suffered a mild concussion and was dozing lightly on the other side of the room.

On her bed side table he placed a large bowl of hot water, a comb, and a washcloth. He sprinkled water in her hair and combed it back from her face, gently tucking it in loose bun above her head.

"Jesus, Jack," he whispered as he dipped the washcloth in the water and began wiping her face and forehead, "I don't know what to do, I'm scared to death."

She watched him wipe tears from his face as he continued to gently cleanse her skin. Immense gratitude and love welled in her but she quickly repressed it. It was much too dangerous to feel anything right now. For the sake of self-preservation her mind had blocked all thoughts of Riddick.

The events of the past four days lay festering under the surface of her memory waiting to be explored, waiting to tear her carefully constructed walls to the ground; and of course – as if she were the butt of some horrific cosmic joke – Farris chose that exact moment to lean forward and brush a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I'm sorry," he murmured against her damp skin, "I'm so sorry about him, about…Riddick."

Her breath hitched painfully at the sound of his name and her hands curled into fists.

"I don't think he would want you to do this to yourself," he pleaded.

The air was slammed from her lungs and she laboriously struggled to inhale. Pain, like nothing she had known before, expanded in her chest and she could swear she felt it move like a bitter stone up through her throat.

"He…he died so you could live…"

At those words she flinched and her eyes flew to his which widened in surprise.

"Jack?"

She opened her mouth and croaked, "D-died…"

Farris pushed his chair back and leaned over her, "Jack…Jesus Christ! You've had me scared …"

"He's dead."

He hesitated, "Kid...I-I'm so sorry…" he faltered to a stop as he looked at her.

Her eyes were wide open, mouth stretched in a silent scream. Her body involuntary began to curl in on itself; and then, as her reached for her, the most heart wrenching tortured wail, the shriek of someone whose soul is being torn from their body, issued forth from her lips and he sobbed silently as she writhed around on the bed. Her keening cry was a primal requiem; her soul seemed to wither before his very eyes.

She howled until her lungs burned; and then she leaned over the side of her bed to vomit violently into the trashcan he held out. When all stomach contents, air and energy had been ripped from her she collapsed back onto the bed and lay still as death save for the sobs that racked her body.

Farris couldn't stand the sight. The vivacious, beautiful, strong young woman he had come to know over the past year was gone. It killed him to see her like this, she was like a sister to him, and there she lay…broken and empty. He could mend her cuts and set her broken bones; but there was absolutely nothing he could do to spare her the emotional hell he knew she was going through. All he could do was offer her some rest. Walking over to the console he typed in a request for an injection of Lorazepam.

"Jack," he whispered as the computer's automated arm hooked the sedative drip to her I.V., "I'm gonna give you something now so you can sleep. You- you need to rest."

He waited until her breathing became shallow before dimming the lights and walking to the door. He stopped and looked back to her limp form on the bed, feeling an overwhelming sense of remorse for the tough but spirited young woman who had disappeared before his very eyes. He let the door swing shut behind him and headed for his room.

The day before he had packed all of Riddick's belongings – not that he had many – into his black duffle bag and left it sitting on the top bunk. He thought that Jack may want to hold on to some of his things…maybe…if Davis wouldn't find out. As he lay, restless and miserable, he wondered just what the hell Jack was going to do now. And in the dark confines of the immaculate med-bay Jack lay wide awake listening to the quiet drone of the air purifier.

She felt absolutely nothing.

* * *

** (A/N: I love you guys for reviewing so quickly! )**


	13. Closing In

**Kinda iffy about this chap. Let me know if you guys like it! Thanx!**

* * *

All Riddick knew was pain. For days he drifted in and out of consciousness only catching bits and pieces of garbled conversations, glimpses of unfamiliar faces. In his drug induced coma he dreamt of nothing. But as the sedatives wore down his mind exploded with fragmented memories. The dark quiet confines of a ship; a pair of bottle green eyes looking up at him; pain, unbelievable searing pain; a woman screaming for him amidst the sounds of twisting metal and gunshots. Jack. His Jack screaming for him as blood dripped from her lashes and splashed onto her cheek.

He was ripped violently from his semi-consciousness stupor. His eyes snapped open and with an inhuman roar he surged up only to be snapped back in place leather restraints which were fastened around the bars of the bed rail.

_Bed rail? Restraints? What the fuck?_

Bitter hatred spiked through him; neither he nor the beast enjoyed being restrained. He'd spent too much of his life in shackles.

Looking to his left he saw that he was hooked up to an array of I.V.'s and he instinctually – and unsuccessfully – tried to dislodge them from his arms.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a female voice squeaked from the doorway. He turned his head to the right and – under different circumstances – he would've laughed out loud. A heavy set, mousy haired woman wearing a medical coat that damn near reached her ankles leaned against the door frame observing him with a kind of wary fascination.

_You gotta be fuckin' kiddin' me_, he thought, amused but somewhat insulted that this was what they sent for him.

Sizing her up he guessed that she was about twenty one, maybe twenty two years old; and had probably never even _seen_ a gauge forget about using one.

She had that innocent wondering look about her, he noticed.

_So… not a merc. _

She didn't pose any _evident_ threat, that was for damn sure, but he'd learned a long time ago not to underestimate a woman. Some of the most brutal beatings he'd watched in slam had been delivered by women half his size. He figured he'd let the straps stay on until he figured out where he was and what was going on.

"What is this shit," he asked, motioning to the I.V. drip. He was somewhat surprised at the slight slurring of his words.

"Mostly anesthetic," she replied and jumped as the door slide shut behind her, "you have a – uh – a saline and nourishment drip as well. You've suffered third and forth degree burns along the majority of your upper back, as well as serious internal damage."

He shifted slightly on the bed, his back didn't hurt really, compared to some of the other stuff he'd experienced. There was this cold sticky pressure on the back though, as if he were lying on a suction cup filled with gel.

"I know what you're thinking," she giggled nervously tucking her hair behind her ears, "it's gross; but trust me when I tell you that the dermagel -pad is you best friend right now. It's mostly aloe-vera, but we added something for the pain."

He hadn't even known his expression had changed.

_Must be some pretty concentrated shit, _he thought_, gotta watch it. _

True, the woman seemed pleasant enough…but he was sure she hadn't strapped him to this bed just for the hell of it.

He remained silent, watching her bustle around the room. He noted that it was private room not a med-bay, and that excluded most merc ships right away. He also noticed that she stayed well out of his reach as if the leather straps weren't a good enough guarantee. She was scared.

_Smart girl_, he thought.

"What's with the cuffs," he asked. The hesitation in her answer did not go unnoticed.

"A precaution," she said mildly, flipping through what he assumed was his chart, "you were quite – uh – violent during the skin grafting process, although I admit it is a very painful procedure. N-not that I would know…I mean personally. But I mean I-I've been _told_. We had to regenerate over seventy-five percent of the flesh and skin on your back."

_Sounds like bullshit to me,_ the beast growled suspiciously from the darkest corner of Riddick's mind.

"You were under a general sedative for the majority of the time," she said peeking over her shoulder, "but the first few days you seemed to be lucid...

_First few days?_

"What's today," he demanded.

"What?"

"The date," he barked growing irritated.

She flushed and looked down at her digital watch, "I – uh – it's September 19th…don't you- don't you remember anything?"

His mind immediately did the math. Two weeks…he'd been out for two weeks. If everything went as planned, Davis and his crew would be on Trelios in three days. He'd lose Jack if he didn't get the hell out of there.

"Oh – er –ok," she stammered, obviously taken aback by his sudden lapse into silence, "well…why don't I just let you get some rest…"

His mild amusement with this girl had vanished, he eyed the i.d. access card clipped to her shirt …she was his ticket out.

"You mind changing this blanket," he asked smoothly, "it's itchy."

At first he thought she would decline but she reluctantly nodded and he smiled what he hoped would be reassuringly.

She walked back over the counter beside his bed, pulling a small key out of her pocket she unlocked a cabinet and leaned in.

The metallic chink of metal snapping made her whip around. Riddick was sitting up on the gurney, leather cuffs still secured around his wrists with the little metal bars dangling from them.

He raised a finger to his lips and the scream that had been threatening to burst from her mouth came out as a strangled gasping sob. Her clipboard slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground as she stood, eyes flicking back and forth between the door and his bed.

He just shook his head, "I wouldn't."

She looked at the straps still around his ankles and took a tentative step backwards.

"You won't make it to the door," he warned as he pulled the I.V.'s from his arm.

She took another step and then turned scrambling towards the exit. She never made it past the foot of the bed.

He lunged forward, grabbed her hair and yanked her back towards him. She screamed into the palm of his hand and beat uselessly against his legs until he jerked her up into the bed so she was sitting on his lap.

"Shut up," he demanded, jerking on her hair for emphasis.

She choked back another scream and began to sob quietly.

"Are we going to cooperate?"

She nodded and he slowly took his hand off her mouth, but kept his other firmly tangled in her hair. She hiccupped and gulped in air trying desperately to calm to herself.

"Good. First, take this shit off my back."

She turned on the bed, grimacing as her hair twisted in his hands. She was forced to scoot close to him until she was basically straddling him in the bed.

He smiled pleasantly at her as she reached over his shoulders, "You can get closer," he smirked leaning in to speak in her ear, "I don't bite…usually."

She grunted in disgust and turned her head away. He couldn't help but chuckle darkly.

_Some people are so easy to fuck with_, he thought.

His amusement was cut short as the woman forcefully tore the pad from his back and his world erupted in a fireball of agony.

"Fuck," he roared, unconsciously whipping her head to the side so hard she was almost unseated.

With his back arched in pain she had been slammed up against his chest and was now frantically trying to dislodge his hand from her hair but he recovered too quickly.

His free hand shot out and wrapped around her neck squeezing her until she began to choke a splutter. The intense pain had caused the beast to rear, snarling and rattling and the bars of its cage demanding to be let out, to show the bitch what pain was.

Riddick however took and few calming breaths and loosened the death hold he had on her throat. She choked out a garbled plea and he silenced her with a look that assured her of a slow and painful death if she didn't do exactly what he said.

There was no need for him to speak, he simply raised a questioning eyebrow and she lowered her bloodshot eyes in submission.

_That's right, _he thought_, I'm not the one to fuck with._

He inhaled deeply, suppressing the urge to just break her neck.

"Unbuckle those restraints," he said motioning to his ankles. She hastily complied although it took her a minute to grasp the buckles with her hands shaking as they were.

"Calm down," he insisted as he slid off the bed with her, still grasping her hair. Glancing down he noticed he was naked. That was going to be an issue.

The medic meantime had convinced herself that she was going to die and had begun begging him to just kill her quickly.

He shot her a disgusted look. No survival instinct, she gave up so damn easily.

Which was smart, he supposed, because he would've just snapped her neck otherwise…but still.

Looking around the room he noticed that none of his belongings were there.

He ran a hand over his head and face. They hadn't shaved him this whole time. They also hadn't removed his contacts as he could see normal colors.

"Where am I," he demanded tightening his hold on her hair

She stood there like a deer in the headlights shaking with fear. "Please…please don't…"

"I'm not going to ask you again."

The cold steel that had crept into his voice prompted her into speech. This man would kill her, she had never been surer of anything in her life.

"This is _Ramses_, we're a deep space emergency services vessel," she said, "we picked up on a – uh – emergency beacon from the _Severet_ almost two weeks ago and uh…." She faltered to a stop.

"And what," he prompted almost enjoying her obvious discomfort.

"And-and we managed to rescue sixteen people," she said wincing in pain, "the other twenty-two were –uh – dead…on arrival." Her hands had unconsciously come to rest of the one he was holding her with. "That really hurts."

He looked at her as if to say that he hadn't even begun to hurt her and she felt her stomach twist itself into a knot. Her mind raced and he could hear her heart thudding rappidly, "I'm just an intern," she whimpered as he drug he throughout the room in search of possible weapons. "I just arrived here last month."

He ignored her as he ripped open drawers looking for anything he could use as a weapon. He came up with a handful of alcohol wipes, aspirin packets, and a box of rubber gloves.

He growled lowly in frustration. All of it, totally fucking useless. And to top it off he was still a little woozy from whatever shit they had been pumping into his veins.

He pulled the woman, who had now resolved to just sob quietly, back over to the bed. He told her to climb up and she did. When he motioned for her to lie with her head on the foot of the bed, sick dread crawled up her spine…he was going to tie her arms.

She tried to struggle off the bed but he yanked her head down and she cried out in pain and fear.

"Don't," he said releasing her hair. "Take off the jacket."

Nauseous with fear she shrugged out of the jacket and he threw it on to the chair behind him, "Down."

She had started to cry uncontrollably, blubbering for him to 'please stop, please don't'.

He disregarded her pleas, told her to shut up and shackled her arms above her head.

When he tucked his fingers into the waist of her baggy pants she began to buck against the bed kicking at him and screaming.

He clapped his hand over her mouth and she tried to bite him. He dissuaded her by gripping her mouth with jaw breaking strength. She whimpered and eventually quieted so he removed his hand.

"You do that again," he said pointing at her, "I'll break your neck. Now lift up."

She raised her hips slightly, and turned her face away resigned to her fate.

Riddick stared at her as he pulled the scrubs down her legs. She absolutely reeked of fear, disgust, anger.

He felt something akin to remorse for the young woman who lay shackled to the gurney; she really thought he was going to rape her.

She kept her head turned away as he yanked on the scrub pants. The coat arms were much too small for him so he ripped them off and split the seams down the side.

The moment the material touched his back flames shot up his spine and he doubled over in agony. His vision swam before his eyes and he had to gulp in air to keep from passing out.

He'd never felt pain like that before in his life. There was no way he was going to be wearing a shirt.

Steadying himself with a hand on the bed he rolled the woman over to face him, he noticed that she clenched her legs closed together and refused to open her eyes.

"Look at me," demanded hovering over her, when she refused he slapped her lightly on the leg. "Open your fucking eyes."

She peeked through the tear soaked lashes at him. Her lips quivered pitifully as she wept, "Please...please don't r-r-ra-."

She was cut off by his derisive snort. "Answer my questions and I won't hurt you," he said icily, "But if you pull some stupid shit, like trying to scream again, I'll break your jaw. If you try to bullshit me – and trust me I'll know if you do – it'll be your legs. You don't want to end up like those twenty two crewmembers, do you?"

She shook her head no.

"Good girl," he said lightly, sitting down on the bed and as he unbuckled the cuffs on his wrists, "first question: how the fuck do I get off this ship?"

* * *

In the silence of the isolated control room Davis sat staring at the illuminated screen in front of him drumming his fingers on the arm rest on the captain's chair. His dirty blonde hair was ruffled from constantly running his hands through it; his eyes were narrowed as they rapidly scanned the message in front of him.

ATTN: CAPTS: ASIMOS,DORIAN; ATTERLY,RAVEN; BURKART,CHAD; DAVIS,MERCUCIO; GIRVAL,JADE; GUILLEN,STEVEN; JAGRIAN,KOSAR; KORDYLAS,JOESEPH; LIVITZ,SEMORINA; MITCHELL,BLAKE; TAPNIOZ,ZIGWEN; VISCHWIST,JAYSEL.

COMMUNICATION: CC4L

SENDER: SONDERS, ABE; DEPT. DIR.

MESSAGE: EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH RECENT COUNSEL MANDATES, ALL GOVERNMENT CONTRACTED REPOSSESSION OFFICERS IN THE HUMAN AND PROPERTY RETRIEVAL DEPARTMENT ARE NOW, BY LAW, REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ACCURATE AND UP TO DATE COPIES OF THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS/ CERTIFICATES AT EVERY PORT OF ENTRY:

VESSEL IDENTIFICATION

COUNSEL IDENTIFICATION

CREW MANIFEST

CARGO/ PRISONER MANIFEST

FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE DOCUMENTS/CERTIFICATES LISTED ABOVE WILL RESULT IN THE IMMEDIATE SEIZURE OF BOTH CARGO AND CREW.

END MESSAGE.

Davis pressed his lips into an impossibly thin line. The fucking Counsel was making it real hard for him to run his business, and this extra inconvenience, however minor, just took the pounding in his head up to another level.

He was already pushing the envelope when it came to his black market dealings, but now things had really been fucked up. The Counsel was breathing down his neck, his contacts were disappearing by the dozens either from being killed off or tossed into slam, his crew was torn to shit, his control room operator was probably dead, his mechanic and weapons specialist were out of commission, and that last take-over had damn near blew his entire operation outta the water.

At least he didn't have to worry about Frye giving up any info.

That was only a minor relief. He hadn't been laid in almost three weeks and the mission to Trelios had been delayed by a week because they needed to lay low.

He lip curled in revulsion as he thought of the possibility of having to rely on rehydrated rations when their fresh food began to run out…and that was if the fucking engine didn't fall apart first.

His annoyance increased triple-fold as he thought of Jack; she had become progressively bitchier, colder and less compliant since he punished her for leaving the ship back on Sona, and recently she had been even less responsive in bed.

_Not that it really mattered anyways, _he thought lighting up a cigar_, fuckin' broad. Should drag her ass outta bed, fuck her, and tell her to get back to work. This goddamn place is going to shit. Laid up for no goddamn reason. Stun shot wears off in six maybe seven hours. Wouldn'tve had to stun her if she'da listened. Sittin' there cryin' over some dead fuck…stupid. And for what? Because he took a shot for her. So the fuck what? He was stupid too._

But in the back of his mind the niggling sensation that something was just not right wouldn't go away. Why _would_ a man like Frye – who, as far as he knew, had only seen Jack maybe three or four minutes a day in the galley and maybe passing in the corridors – take a shot for her? And even if he did, why would Jack be so damn upset? Eight months ago one of their crew had accidently ran in front of a shot meant for her; his brains had ended up splattered across her face and she hadn't batted an eye.

And that argument in the galley he had walked in on the first week? Initially, he'd written it off as a pissing contest between old and new crewmates, happened all the time. But now, looking back, it seemed a little intense for that. Whatever Frye had said to her before he left had hurt her.

That bothered him more than anything else. That look on her face…like she was about to cry. He'd never seen her cry. He'd struck her, humiliated her, fucked her until she was raw…and never a tear. But she'd been damn near hysterics when Farris tried to pull her from the hangar bay.

Now that made no goddamn sense.

_People like Jack don't just breakdown over strangers…_

Before his mind could digress any further his comm. started beeping and vibrating in his pocket.

Pulling it out he stretched in the chair and propped his feet up on the console. It was Jagrian.

Glancing at the small screen he saw that the text message was marked as important and a tingle of unease crawled up his spine. When he opened the message the unease was replaced by stomach churning fear and the cigar fell tumbled from his hanging mouth.

SENDER: JAGRIAN, KOSAR

SUBJECT: IMPORTANT! HACKED COUNSEL DATABASE. NOT MUCH TIME. HEAD FOR ZEMINOS QUADRANT…NO JURISDICTION.

MESSAGE: BE ADVISED: VESSELS/ CAPTAINS CURRENTLY UNDER COUNSEL INVESTIGATION.

CAPT. SEMORINA LIVITZ, _THE IRIS_

CAPT. KOSAR JAGRIAN, _UKUR_

CAPT. JADE GIRVAL, _NINTU'S PRIDE_

CAPT. MERCUCIO DAVIS, _THE ISHTAR_

CAPT. BLAKE MITCHELL, _HANADUNE_

AS OF NEXT MONTH GOVERNMENT INSPECTION CLERKS WILL BE POSTED AT EVERY PORT, STATION AND DOCK IN ALL SYSTEMS UNDER THE COUNSEL'S JURISDICTION.

He hurled the comm. into the thick Plexiglas window and the battery popped out.

"God _damn_ it," he screamed furiously, "sonuva motherfucking _bitch_. Shit! _Shit_!!"

"Good news," a voice questioned sarcastically from behind, making him jump.

He whipped around in his chair to see Farris leaning up against the doorframe, arms crossed, eyebrows raised. The contemptuous smirk on his face sent Davis's rage spiraling upward.

"What the fuck d'ya want, Farris," he snarled raking his hands through his hair.

Farris's brow rose even further; and his smirk turned into a shit-eating grin. He hated Davis, and Davis knew it.

Farris stayed with this crew because – although in his opinion being subservient to Davis was like stepping barefoot in a pile of fresh dog shit – the man paid exceptionally well. To be sure, there was absolutely no love lost between the two, and nothing pleased him more than to see the man unhappy. Even if he sometimes suffered the consequences.

"Oh I don't know," Farris replied conversationally as he looked up to the ceiling, "I guess what every other guy wants. Make good money, party a little, get laid…" he stopped to watch as Davis's nostrils flared and his fists clenched at his sides.

He had to choke back laughter.

The other man sprang from his chair and Farris held up his hands, "No need for that. Riley's up."

"And Jack?"

All the humor drained from Farris's slender face, "She's up too, but she's not talking."

Davis lowered himself back into the chair, pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. Inhaling he fixed Farris with disgusted glare, "Tell her ass to get to work," he spat, "she ain't gotta talk to hold a fuckin' wrench."

Farris's lip curled, but he swallowed his words and walked out the door.

No, she didn't have to talk. Not one fucking word. She'd already shown her disregard for his orders back on Sona. And the more he pondered her actions concerning Frye – if that even was his name – the more it bothered him. As far as he was concerned he couldn't trust a word out of the bitch's mouth and would have find out everything he wanted to know by himself.

Davis scooped his comm. off the ground, popped the battery back in and began typing.

RECIPIENT: JAGRIAN, KOSAR

SUBJECT: IMPORTANT!

MESSAGE: I NEED ALL THE INFO YOU CAN GET ON THESE NAMES ASAP : JACQUELINE, JACK, AL WALID, FRYE.

The message was sent. There was nothing left for him to do but wait.

Clasping his hands behind his head, he reclined back in the chair and let himself become absorbed in the twinkling of the thousands of stars that littered the vast darkness of deep space.


	14. Fading

**Thanx to all those who R&R regularly (you know who you are)! I love you guys (wipes a tear). I'm starting to lose steam with this particular story but you guys keep me going! And to those of you who leave one-time reviews…I love you too!**

**These last two chaps for me have been grr …but I really hope you guys enjoy it. Yes? No? Let me know…**

**A.P.**

* * *

_**Five Years Ago- New Mecca**_

"_Touch it again and I'll tape your eyes shut."_

_Jack lifted the blindfold she had been picking at, peeked through her lashes at the man standing in front of her and smiled guiltily. His face remained deathly serious, silver eyes gleaming menacingly in the dim light that filtered into the room. She stopped smiling and dropped the bandana back I place. They had pinned blankets over the window, but he wanted it pitch black for her. _

"_Riddick, can I ask you something?"_

"_No." _

_She ignored him and asked anyways, "Why do I have to learn to fight in the dark if you'll be here." She didn't see the shadow of guilt pass across his face._

"_You want me to train you or not," he asked shortly, "if you'd rather go play with your dolls, fine. Stop wasting my fucking time."_

_He was mocking her. Why would he – why __**should**__ he – waste his time with some little scrap of a girl?_

_She didn't take the bait. "Yes, I do."_

_She inhaled slowly demanding her body to relax, sightlessly take stock of her surroundings. _

_His voice came from behind her. __**When did he move?**_

"_Then start fuckin' actin' like it." Cold, his voice was so cold. Thirty minutes ago at breakfast he'd been laughing as she teased Imam about getting her nose pierced. She liked it when he laughed, really laughed…_

_**Now he's distracting me. Concentrate. Air feels warmer, heavier to the left. **_

_Her arm struck out surprisingly quick…and hit nothing. She was rewarded with a stinging slap to the back of the head. She growled in frustration, but didn't open her eyes. She couldn't see the smile playing about his lips._

"_Predictable." _

_His voice came from the right, close and scornful, "Don't tilt your head."_

_The slap had stung, so she threw her right elbow out; equally hoping to connect and terrified of the consequences. She hit nothing, and another slap was delivered, this time behind her left knee. _

"_That fucking hurt," she hissed, fighting the urge to reach down and rub the prickling skin. _

"_A shiv in your gut hurts more," he replied harshly, circling the girl as she stood with her fists clenched at her sides, "now pay attention." He could feel the frustration emanating from her petite frame, and it irritated him. Being a hothead would get her killed. _

"_A temper tantrum ain't gonna get you shit," he ridiculed. He stepped forward and flicked her on the nose, retreating before she could ever hope to retaliate._

"'_Cept that."_

_She cursed him and received a painful flick to her ear. _

_Snarling she swung out blindly and he watched from six feet away as she tore viciously at the air and then dropped her hands back down. Her fingers curled and uncurled, as if itching to wrap themselves around something…like a neck…possibly his. _

_His smiled widened. If anything, Jack being angry was entertaining. No one would know it, but the girl could spit venom out of that pretty little mouth. She'd even surprised Riddick a few times. But right now, for her own sake, she needed to learn to control that fire, to use it. _

_He began again. "Listen, Jack. What do you hear?"_

"_Your big mouth," she replied sourly under her breath. He heard her. This time it was a pinch on the side, it really hurt._

"_We're done," he rumbled dryly, heading to the door._

"_No," she shouted quickly, eyes flying open, "I'm sorry. I'll try for real this time."_

_He stared her down until she smiled hopefully, and then he returned cuffing her lightly. "Keep playin' around and I'm gonna let Imam take you to mosque."_

_Her eyes narrowed apprehensively, "You wouldn't."_

_Lips curving into a mean smile, he stepped forward towering over her. _

"_Every. Single. Day."_

_Her eyes snapped shut, "I'm ready."_

_He began to circle her again, "You hear…"_

_She scrunched her face up , trying , trying – __**Air**__**being pressed out…swishing…**_

"_The mat under your feet."_

_**Good kid, gettin' better. **_

"_You feel…"_

"_Hmmm…I feel…body heat. You're hot."_

_His lips twitched and he couldn't help it, "Thanks, Jack, but you're not exactly my type."_

_She blushed scarlet for a second; but then snorted and smirked, "Too bad no one else would have you." __**Asshole**__._

_The kid had balls. _

_**But still…no reason to be letting her get mouthy.**_

_He stooped so they were almost nose to nose, "_Lots_ of women would have me, Jack. And _lots_ already have."_

_He waited for anger, maybe jealousy. He saw the way she looked at him sometimes, felt guilty for liking it. _

_Instead he saw her lips tugging into a smile. _

_And then he felt the cool metal slide along the inside of his arm._

_**Gotcha**__. She smiled smugly, tapping the shiv lightly against his skin, "Brachial artery, sixty second bleed out."_

_He couldn't help but grin, she was so damn cocky._

"_Nice."_

_Opening her eyes, she smiled radiantly. It was a simple comment, but Riddick used praise pretty sparingly. Her smile faltered though, he didn't miss it._

"_You're a tough little bitch when you wanna be," he said ruffling her hair and watching as her face lit up._

"_Thanks," she said spinning the blade around and handing it to him, "took me a while to work up the nerve."_

_He poked her in the ribs as they sat down and began stretching again, "You scared of me, kid?"_

_She snorted and shook her head. _

_He watched as she went through the routine he'd taught her. She had progressed rapidly in her training, much faster than he would have expected for someone so young. But today, neither her heart nor her mind was in it. It bothered Riddick, perhaps more than it should have. Training with him had always been her favorite part of the day; it had unconsciously become his too. _

"_You okay," he asked casting a sideways glance. Her face froze, tightened like she was in pain, and then melted back in placid concentration. _

"_Mm hmm," she replied reaching over to grab her toes, "just tired."_

"_Liar." _

_She looked at him, seemingly chewing over her words before saying them. It bothered him; she usually just popped off at the mouth. _

"_You're training me different," she said thoughtfully, picking at the mat distractedly, "teaching me kill moves, permanent stuff."_

_She was right. The morning after his run in with the mercs he had begun an intensive curriculum of defensive and offensive moves with her. He'd even started to let her work with weapons; secretly of course… he didn't want to deal with the holy man's shit fit. _

"_You might need it." __**After I'm gone.**_

_She stared at him, trying to expose any fault and sigh of deceit. He kept his face pointedly blank, and she looked away. Her unease was making him anxious, uncomfortable…guilty._

_**Way too attached to this fuckin' kid.**_

_He shifted, clearly unsure of what to say…or if he should say anything._

_**Change the subject, change the subject…..**_

"_You wanna stop trainin'?" _

_She looked at him like he had just grown a second head, "Are you nuts? Hell no, I don't wanna quit…how the hell am I supposed to be able to take you?"_

_He threw back his head and laughed loudly; and her smile came back full force. _

"_In your sleep, kid…that's the only time it'll happen."_

"_Please," she said throwing her towel at him, "give me six more months and I'll kick your ass all over this cabin."_

_**Don't have six months, Jack…gotta learn it now.**_

"_Whatever, just don't tell the holy man I'm lettin' you use shiv's," he said pointing a finger in her face, "he'll shit a brick."_

_Jack snorted in laughter and wagged her finger in Riddick face as she gave her best Imam impression, "Mr. Riddick, it is entirely inappropriate for a young lady to be learning such violent behavior. She should be in school, being taught the classics, religious studies and the blah blah blahs."_

"_School starts soon enough," he said quietly, "right now...you train."_

_She wrinkled her nose at the mention of school, "Don't remind me…hey, wanna go for a run? I'll beat you to the stream."_

_He gave her a head start; she ran like hell, flying through the house, clearing the couch in one smooth leap, ducking and dodging through the trees outside the cabin. She approached the stream incredulously._

_**I won. I can't believe I actually…**_

_Something thudded on the ground behind her and she spun in a perfect kick only to find her ankle suddenly held hostage by Riddick's huge paw._

"_Took you long enough." They laughed about it. _

_Five day later he was gone. _

_She awoke to find a note in his neat block letters pinned to the wall by his favorite shiv:_

_Jack, _

_I'm glad I went back for you, kid. _

_Keep that blade sharp._

_-R. _

_She flew out of the house, Imam on her heels, telling her it was for the best. She would've run the whole way, but he relented in exhaustion and called for a transport. _

_When they arrived she bobbed and weaved through the maze of ships. __**Please, god. Please don't let him be gone. Not yet, please.**_

_She found him walking across the tarmac. He wasn't pleased to see her there. Glared at Imam as he walked up behind her. He told her it was true, he had to go. Told her it was for the best. Told her to be good. Left her, sobbing into Imam's robes as the man kneeled in the dirt besides her._

* * *

Five years later she found herself in a similar position. Only now she was was alone.

Jack sat on the floor of the bathroom in the captain's quarters clutching the old tear stained slip of paper in her trembling hand. Her silver encased diary lay open beside her.

_Glad I went back for you, kid. _

"You always came back," she whispered brokenly.

_Not anymore, _a hateful voice whispered in her mind, _never again_. She curled into a fetal position as a fresh wave of pain engulfed her.

_Glad I went back._

It was getting hard to breathe. A strangled sound – part anger, part unbearable agony – slipped from her lips as she bit down on her fist trying desperately to remain silent.

His black duffle bag lay open next to her. She had lain awake until Davis had started snoring before she pulled the bag out from underneath the bed and locked herself in the bathroom with it.

She wished she would've left the damn thing closed, shoved it back at Farris when he handed it to her that morning.

It occurred to her then that everything he owned in the world – as far as she knew – was crammed into one bag. He had had no home save for the ship he sold before boarding the _Ishtar, _he'd given that up for her.

In the adjacent room she heard the creak of the mattress as Davis rolled over. She pushed slowly off the floor, listening intently. He snorted, the mattress creaked again.

Pulling herself up from the floor she faced the mirror. Three days of no sleep, little water, and even less food had taken its toll on her appearance. Her face was pale and drawn; lips chapped and cracked; bloodshot eyes dull and flat.

Inside it was worse. Her soul had been fractured, her youthful buoyancy siphoned off as the days drifted, crawled by. Every minute seemed like a lifetime. It hurt, physically hurt, when a thought of Riddick slipped past her barricades. She heard his voice in her head as she attacked the punching bag in the gym, felt the weight of his arm across her waist as she lay awake in bed night after night, his scent assailed her senses as she stood in the shower. She was hollow, running on fumes…a wraith with her own personal phantom.

He wouldn't get out of her head. Wouldn't give her a moments peace. Her inattentiveness had gotten him killed, and his was his revenge, to torment her until she ended up shoving a gauge in her mouth a pulling the trigger.

Outside the door the bed creaked loudly, she heard feet hitting the floor. Hastily she shoved the note and her diary into the bag and threw it into the shower. She pulled the shower door closed just as Davis walked into the bathroom.

Squinting in the bright lights he wiped a hand over his stubbly chin, "What're you doin' awake?"

"I couldn't sleep," she whispered looking at the floor.

"Take some pills," he grunted trying to push past her to the toilet. She tensed unconsciously as he neared the shower stall; he paused and turned to look at her.

She wrapped her arms around herself, refusing to meet his eyes. He reached his hand out slowly as if to touch her face, hesitated, and then ran it down her chest until he was cupping her breast. She shuddered in revulsion. He squeezed twice, like she was some specimen he was examining and she knocked his hands away.

"I'm not a piece of fuckin' fruit," she seethed. Oh, how he disgusted her. The coward. Had he not been such a chicken shit, so eager to save his own stinking skin, Riddick may still be alive.

The dull film of apathy washed away from her eyes, looking into them he saw how they absolutely sparked with repulsion and hatred.

His look changed from cruel amusement to stone cold malice.

"You look like shit," he said turning back to the toilet, "go get some fuckin' sleep."

She reluctantly backed out of the bathroom and slid under the cover of the bed waiting for him to return.

Fifteen minutes later he was snoring again. She slipped from the bed, grabbed the duffle bag and made her way down into the engine room.

_Fuck this, _she thought_, there's nothing left for me here. _

The next five days passed smoothly for her, the pain was raw but acceptance set in…she couldn't do it anymore. They had three days until they got to Trelios she was going to jump ship and maybe, if god hadn't completely abandoned her, she could scavenge together the remaining bits of her life. Riddick had called her a tough little bitch once; she was almost looking forward to proving him right.


	15. Talios

**...after promising to sign over my first born child...the techs decided to fix my notebook.**

**They saved someones life... **

**Oh, yeah...and I know there are bound to be errors in here...but its 4 AM...so, ah...screw it. **

**:)**

* * *

Jack hated the rain. She had hated it six years ago when she'd been running for her life through it, and she hated it now as she trudged through the litter ridden streets of downtown Talios.

The leather overcoat she'd smuggled out of Davis's closet kept her back dry for the most part, but the wind still whipped droplets under the hood, making her cheeks sting.

She hoisted her pack higher onto her shoulder, making sure that her coat stayed closed. If anyone was thinking about fucking with her she wanted the gauge she held against her chest to be a surprise.

Talios was not the safest place for a woman. Hell, Talios wasn't really safe for anyone who wasn't packing heat. Trelios was a shithole of a planet and Talios was its capital city. Whoever ruled the black market, ruled these streets and if they gave a shit about the families trying to make it here it'd surprise the hell out of her.

Looking down to her right she smiled at the little girl, bundled up in Jack's clothes, who scurried along next to her. Jack slowed her steps, and the girl lifted her face to give her a small grateful smile.

As they approached the steps of the hotel, the girl shot a questioning glance towards Jack who smirked and nodded. The girl took off like a rocket, splashing through the puddles and thundering up the rickety stairs before coming to a stop outside of Jacks room – their room.

An hour later the girl laid curled up next to Jack, snoring softly, dead to the world.

Jack sighed wistfully – _must be nice_ – and hooked and arm around the frail little body and drew her near. She thought it was strange, the inexplicable protectiveness she felt for this girl. She wondered if it was the connection Riddick had felt towards her. Her chest burned at the thought of him.

_Maybe I just need someone to hold onto_, she thought brushing the hair out of the girls face. Something deep inside told her differently.

A week ago she'd been returning to her room, hands full of liquor and snacks, when she'd witnessed a girl – ten, maybe eleven by the looks of her – being pulled kicking and screaming into an alley by a man more than twice her size.

No one even fucking stopped. The rain kept belting down, and the people kept walking quickly by. Jack had found herself standing in the middle of the street, staring towards the alley mouth, listening to the girl scream.

She almost kept walking.

_I don't need this shit. I can't play hero._

She would've returned back to her shabby hotel room, gorged herself on snacks, gotten shit-faced drunk and passed out trying to wipe the memory of the little girls face from her mind.

She had turned, preparing to leave the girl to her fate, when an anguished pleading cry came from the alley.

"Momma!"

Jack was halfway to the alley before her soggy grocery bags hit the ground. Thirty minutes later she seemed to wake from a daze, naked and laying in her hotel shower. The little girl sat perched on the toilet, wide cobalt eyes staring straight through her soul. Her clothes on the floor were soaked with blood.

She didn't even remember how she made it back. The girl never told her, she never spoke at all. She never tried to leave, and when Jack had asked her if she had any family the girl had started to cry hysterically. Jack took that as a no. So she kept her.

Jack called her Cobi, for her eyes. The girl seemed to like it, she responded to it. So, Cobi it was. After the day or so, they fell into a routine. Jack would wake, rehydrate something for breakfast, watch cartoons on the vidscreen – the kid got a real kick out of them – and then the Cobi was to lock herself in the room while Jack went out and – unsuccessfully – looked for work.

Jack's dreams were still filled with dreams of Riddick – the feel of his lips against hers, his eyes telling her something that she now would never get to hear, his blood soaking through her shirt – so she didn't sleep much. Just laid there and enjoyed the quiet snuffles of her girl next to her. She was a good kid. Jack knew why she had run into the alley that night.

She'd been that scared little girl once, screaming for her mother. Only her mother was dead…she had a feeling Cobi's was too. But more importantly…she'd been the little girl trying to escape from a monster, while a tentative savior watched reluctantly from afar. The irony didn't escape her. But besides that, she was at a complete loss as to what she was going to do with the kid, she was running out of credits fast, and work was nowhere to be found for a woman mechanic in Talios.

Whoring wasn't her thing, she figured she'd done a lifetimes worth of that laying underneath Davis . Stripping?

_Maybe, _she thought_, if worst comes to worst. Can't be that bad.Tips…whatever._

She chuckled humorlessly at that last thought.

Two years ago, if someone told her she'd end up a stripper, she would've decked them.

_Yeah, well two months ago if someone told you Riddick could die you would've laughed in their face._

Damn. That thought hit her like a piles of bricks. How stupid she had been, how naïve. What had she really thought was going to happen? Had she really thought she could blast off into the universe, find Riddick, make him fall in love with her, and live happily ever after?

Not fucking likely.

She shook her head, disgusted with herself. How Riddick had ever put up with her she would never know. It'd been only one year ago since she sat in her comfortable little bedroom back in New Mecca, coming up with a plan to find him.

In that year she'd managed to fuck up spectacularly. Killing people and whoring herself to Davis – god, she was glad he was gone – aside…she'd gotten Riddick killed. Damn, she'd really outdone herself.

In the darkest part of the night, she was obliged to wallow in her own self-loathing.

_Be careful what you wish for, Jack. _

Shit, she wished she would've listened to him then.

Now she was sitting here in a fleabag hotel, with a shrinking credit account, a mute kid, two bottles of whiskey and a bag full of dead man clothes.

"Congradu – fucking – lations, "she muttered darkly, "you've just been inducted into the 'Asshole Hall of Fame'."

Outside the rain beat down, cold and relentless. The sound of metal sheeting being pelted with hail began to clatter through the room; Cobi rolled over and snuggled closer to Jack. Wind howled and whistled through the crack under the door; Jack just held the girl tighter, buried her face into the girls mint scented hair, and tried to take some solace in the fact that she had, for once, done something right.

* * *

A cold smile, devoid of any warmth or humor slowly eased its way onto Davis's face as he finished reading the new message on his comm. The bitch actually thought she could pull it off? Stupid.

Carolyn Frye, Imam Abu al- Walid, Jack B. Badd. All registered travelers on the _Hunter-Gratzner_. The pilot, confirmed dead. The holy man, alive and well…currently the guardian of one Jacqueline– _or Jack_ – al-Walid. Coincidence? Not fucking likely.

None of it mattered to Davis. All of that tasty info paled in comparison to the one shining fact. Riddick. Richard B. Riddick, had been on that ship. It'd been reported, by the holy man no less, that he died on the planet.

Davis snorted derisively. Mercs – at least the ones who knew their ass from a hole in the ground – had known it was a crock of shit all along.

It all fell into place. Davis could've shot himself for being so damn blind.

_Of course the little cunt had known him. She'd been on the Hunter- Gratzner with him. She escaped that planet with him. Jack B. Badd. Stupid name. Frye, my ass. She'd brought Riddick himself onto this ship. She knew he was alive the whole time. She'd never told the Counsel…she was his…accomplice_.

And she was right here, on Trelios. She'd bailed out on him, but she hadn't skipped planet. He was sure of that.

He shook his head and began to laugh in earnest, "Oh, Jackie girl, you little bitch. Am I gonna have some fun with you."

* * *

On the other side of the Trelios docking station, a burned out, run down, over driven skiff was being towed into port. On the underbelly, barely legible – and insignificant, since the ID's had been changed – was _Ramses_.

* * *

**yay! riddick to the rescue! I love it!...but maybe I'm biased. Hey, to everyone who emailed/messaged/reviewed over the past three days...THANKS! You guys have been more than awesome! Opening my inbox and seeing all those nice notes made my day... I was smiling like an idiot. :)**

**-A.P.**


	16. Happy Reunion ?

**:) It's been a while! SORRY! The writer's block is waning...the story is moving along. Hope you like and gracias for the reviews, I LOVE them, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy!!**

* * *

Riddick gritted his teeth against the pain that flared in his back as his shirt chaffed his skin.

"Goddamn shirt," he swore quietly. He swore loudly, however, when the puddle he stepped in turned out to be deeper than he'd originally thought. His shoe now squelched with every step but it didn't deter him from his mission.

Jack was somewhere in this hellhole and he wasn't leaving without her. Not after everything he'd done to get there.

Evading mercs was a never ending job, tedious and painstaking. Breaking outta slam was always dangerous, always risky. Escaping the _Ramses_ had been a stone cold bitch.

He hadn't wanted that many people to die, but people had a tendency to get in between him and freedom. But then, they had tried to get in between him and Jack. And now they were dead.

And he was pretty sure he was back on the radar. They had his DNA, they must've sent it out to the Counsel by now. Mercs would be breathing down his neck in no time.

_So much for taking her with me._

Bitterness swept through him and this time he couldn't shake it off. It hit him then how much he'd wanted to have her with him. When had that happened?

Ducking under the overhanging of the tower control building Riddick surveyed the docks looking for a sign of Davis or his crew. Gerod or Riley, he'd kill quickly. Maybe Farris too, he never really trusted him. Jack would get over it. But Davis…that motherfucker would die slowly.

During his race from the _Ramses_to Trelios he had uncovered the truth about Davis's real operation. The name tags. They'd been the final clue. None of those crewmembers were wanted; he had run them through the Counsel database after hacking in. Everything about the Severet was legit. Manifest, logs, crew, and cargo…Davis was pirating. Hell, he was wanted for questioning by the Counsel. And he had turned Jack into his executioner for-hire.

Riddick hoped she would never know. He sure as hell wasn't planning on telling her.

_How would that sound, _he wondered, '_hey Jack, I know you're already torn up about the people you've killed but, guess what? There's a chance that none of them were cons and you murdered a bunch of scared innocent passengers…surprise!'_

It would kill her.

He waited for a few more minutes, but the yards were dead not a soul moved through it. Stepping back out into the torrential downpour he flipped the collar of his jacket up and started off in a slow jog towards the heart of Talios.

Finding Jack was going to be easier than he thought, and he applauded himself for placing that locator beacon in her comm. unit when he'd had the chance.

Luckily, she wasn't on the ship. There shouldn't be any complications.

_Grab Jack, kill Davis, take his ship, and get the fuck outta here._

He was anticipating the look on Jack's face when he found her, it would be priceless. He hoped she'd be happy enough to not kill him when he told her that she couldn't go with him.

Wincing at the thought he sped up.

_Better get this over with, _he thought_, she's going to hate me._

* * *

Cobi started crying in her sleep. Long, shuddering moans that made the hair on the back of Jack's neck stand straight up.

Jack didn't want to know what could make such a young girl cry like that. She didn't want to know the horrors a pretty little thing like Cobi would've had to endure in this hellish city. All Jack knew was that as long as Cobi was with her, she would do anything to keep her safe.

Smoothing her hands down the girls back, Jack whispered soothing words and Cobi buried her face into Jack's chest snuffling and sobbing.

_How long has it been since I really slept, _Jack wondered to herself_, four days? Five?_

The rain beat down outside and Jack felt a fleeting stab of hopelessness; it would never stop raining. Not for her. It seemed as if overnight she had gone from being an honor student in a land full of light, to a jaded woman with a gaping hole in her heart.

Gently untangling her limbs from the girl's, Jack slid off the bed and walked to the bathroom, quietly closing the door behind her.

She slid down against the door and held her head in shaking hands.

"I can do this, Riddick, I can," she whispered to herself, "I can do this…but god, I just want you back."

* * *

Riddick glanced at the tracking device in his hand and then back up to the shoddy hotel in front of him. She was in there, somewhere.

"Jesus, kid, "he muttered as he strode through the rain towards the office, "gotta thing for shitholes or what?"

The little bell above the door jingled as he pulled the door open and he found that it grated on his already frayed nerves. All he wanted to do was grab his girl and go.

_Whoa, not my girl, _he thought running a hand through his damp hair_, can't be mine. Not anymore._

The thought pissed him off more than he thought it should and by the time the clerk had hauled her fat ass out of the back room his patience had completely evaporated.

He gave Jack's description and the woman stuttered out that she was in room 7B. He left the office without a backwards glance.

Standing outside her room, he felt a sudden chill run up his spine, followed by hot raw anger. She wasn't in there alone. He could smell someone else's scent mingling with Jack's sweet vanilla. Inhaling deeply he caught the scent of mint, but couldn't tell if it was a man or woman.

Fighting the instinct to kick down the door, he pulled a shiv from his pocket and picked the lock with practiced ease. Listening to it lock click back he cracked the door open peeked into the dark room. Light shone from underneath the bathroom door, but what caught his attention was the little body lying in the bed in front of him.

"What the hell," he murmured to himself creeping closer. This was definitely Jack's room, the air was saturated in her scent …but he could swear the thing in front of him was a…a kid.

He reached his hand out, intending on turning the sleeping body over, when the sound of metal slicing air caused him to jerk up.

He deftly snatched the shiv out of the air milliseconds before it embedded itself in his chest. Before he had the chance to move a foot connected with his chest and he stumbled back out into the rain.

His attacker was on him in an instant, and he was almost too surprised to block the flurry of punches and kicks she threw his way.

She landed a solid kick to his knee cap and when he fell back she bolted back to the room. She was trying to protect whoever was in there. She wasn't fast enough, however, and Riddick was back on her in a second.

This time he managed to grab her arm, spin her around so her back was to his chest and slam her – none to gently – against the wall. She struggled and bucked against him, but his bulk won out in the end. She was pinned.

"You've been practicing," he growled into her ear. She went stock still and he could scent fear, sharp and ugly, radiating from her.

"What did I tell you about fighting angry…Jack?"

She shuddered once in front of him and the scent of tears met his nostrils. He slowly loosened his hold and let her drop to her feet. So much for a happy reunion.

Her back remained towards him and she practically vibrated she was shaking so hard, "Riddick?"

Her voice broke, and he felt a sliver of worry at the empty hysteria he heard in it.

"Yeah."

She jumped at the sound of his voice, and when he reached out and put his hand on her shoulder she wrenched herself from between him and the wall and stumbled back into her room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

**Hmmm...happy she does not appear to be ...wonder what will happen next. R&R please.**


	17. Square One

He was right behind her, slamming the door back against the wall. The dozing girl shot up, scrambled back off the bed when she saw him and ran after Jack into the bathroom.

He followed, grabbed her tiny flailing body and threw her back onto the mattress before locking the bathroom door behind him.

"I'm gettin' tired of this back and forth shit, Jack." He spun her around, pinning her up against the wall. "The fuck is your prob-"

She slapped him. Hard. Then again before he pinned her wrists to the wall. She raged against him, biting and kicking. He tried not to laugh, failed, and then grunted as her hard little foot connected with his knee cap.

_Goddamn she has good aim._

She stopped fighting, started yelling. Came up some phrases that impressed him before she finally slumped back against the wall, panting.

He leaned in close, lips quirked into a smug smile, "You done?"

"You son of a bitch," she hissed trying to yank her hands out of an iron grip. "You have no idea...I thought you were-. "

She stopped, turned her head away from him blinking rapidly. "Why would you do that to me?"

He dropped her hands. "To you?" Stepping back he shook his head disbelievingly, no longer amused. "To you?"

Stripped off his shirt rougher than he intended. Swallowing down the nauseating pain he turned his back to her. "It was _for_ you and don't you forget that."

Glancing over his shoulder he could see her staring at the burns. She wasn't as upset as he thought she should be. He eyed her sourly - _What the fuck is this?_

"Taking you back to Imam, too. Plans changed."

He felt like a petulant child, but it got a reaction.

"What the fuck to you mean 'plans changed'," she asked quietly, pushing away from the wall.

The word 'implosion' flashed through his head, and he turned to face her, shielding his back.

"Tearing apart a rescue vessel don't qualify as low key, Jack. You know the game, you're part of it. Your buddies'll be gunnin' for me -."

"Don't," she cut in, now blatantly hostile. "I'm done with them…and that excuse was weak the first time around, asshole. Don't insult me with that bullshit."

He looked at her, somewhere between angry and amused. "Ok then, I changed my mind. Feel better?"

Her eyes flashed dangerously, but she swallowed her words. He watched her fingers curling, relaxing, curling again; and remembered how much it used to amuse him when she was fourteen. It wasn't so funny now.

"Turn around," she demanded suddenly, reaching for the duffle bag on the counter.

He gave her a dubious look, "What the fuck for?" She stared at him, tapping her foot impatiently.

When he didn't move she shook her head incredulously, "You really think I'd hurt you?"

"I'd think you'd try."

Her composure slipped.

"Godammit, Riddick," she exploded. "You haven't been treating your back. It's gonna fucking scar."

He shrugged, "Got lotsa scars, babe. What's one more?"

She returned his smirk with a glare, "That much scarring will mess with your movement, idiot. Just turn around."

He did, eyeing her warily over his shoulder. She rolled her eyes, called for brighter lights and snorted when he grunted in pain.

He decided to let it go. She was hurting bad and he knew it. Even though her fingers were gentle and competent he could feel the tension in her movements. He found himself torn; wanting to comfort her, wanting to tell her to wake the fuck up and see that he had no choice. That he'd done too much just to see her killed or thrown into a slam for running with him.

He'd wanted her with him before. When some semblance of a normal life was possible. They might've had to live low key, but they wouldn't have been running. That wasn't the case now. She didn't know what she was asking for. She should've been thanking him. He was doing right by her, ignoring the urge to just drag her along with him. Saving her from having to live her life in pit-stops.

But there she was touching him, tempting him, making him feel like a complete asshole for doing what he knew was right. Why did she have to make everything so goddamn hard? What had happened to just knocking her ass out and dragging her along for the ride?

"Got a knack for making me feel guilty," he chuckled bitterly. "I think you do that shit on purpose."

She ignored him, began haphazardly repacking the first aid kit, shoving it into the duffle bag, washing her hands, fixing the towel rack he'd knocked her against. She wouldn't look at him. He tried to reach for her but she shrugged away and slipped out of the bathroom. He heard her murmuring to the girl – Cobi, she had called her – telling her that it was ok. The girl didn't respond, but Jack kept chanting, "It'll be fine. Everything is ok. It's alright."

He sat on the lid of the toilet quickly when she came back in, feigning indifference. She threw another duffle bag at his feet and stood watching him blankly.

He pawed through the bag, more for a distraction than actual interest. He was used to condemnation. But not from her.

_Fuck that. Not after everything I've done to keep you safe, little girl._

"Just so you know," she began coldly, "Cobi's coming with me. If you have a problem with that you can just fucking leave me here because I won't go without her."

He nodded, pulled some cargoes from the bag and began to change. She didn't leave, just stood there with her arms crossed, watching him shamelessly.

It was strange, being naked in front of her. He remembered the night in the gym, the way she had felt against him, how she had touched him. Realized that that'd probably never happen again, that crazy-intense high she gave him. He was grateful, now, for that asshole walking in when he did.

_If I'd taken her there…_He pushed the thought away, focused on the task at hand.

When he was done, he shoved the dirty clothes back into the bag and began lacing up his boots. Out of the corner of his eye he could see her fidgeting.

He cleared his throat, "Scouted out our transport already. The girl's gonna have to do cryo."

She nodded distractedly and he felt his patience slip. "If you need to say something, spit it the fuck out. I need to go over these plans."

She eased up onto the counter, curling her long legs underneath her, and stared at him. He yielded, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

"What, Jack," he demanded, trying not to yell, still refusing to look at her.

"I just want one thing from you, Riddick," she said quietly.

_Anything_. "What's that?"

She inhaled deep, "Next time-. " She faltered, started again. "Next time do me a favor and stay away."

It took him a while to reign in the anger; even longer to swallow the pain. When he was fairly certain he wouldn't strangle her he allowed himself to speak, "I'll be back in three hours. Be ready. Don't make me come looking for you."

Fuck waiting, he needed the hunt. That last statement had hurt more than it should've and he needed something to reinforce those walls she kept kicking down. He stood, brushed past her, ignoring her stare.

"I hate you," she choked out quietly. Had he been someone else it would've gone completely unnoticed. But he wasn't and it didn't.

His mind froze, but his body reacted. She was bent backwards over the counter with his hand around her neck before she could draw another breath.

"Good. Hate me then, godammit," he snarled into her ear. "Hate me. It'll make it _that_ much easier to dump your ass in New Mecca."

"Every fucking thing I've done has been for you," he said spat, pulling her head back further.

He turned and licked a tear of the side of her face, kissed her ear lobe tenderly, and then, "I should've left you in that cave."

The second the words left his mouth he knew something had been broken. She jerked as if he'd struck her; and when he let her go she crumpled to the ground.

_If she didn't hate me before, she does now. _And then – _I **am** a fucking monster._

He spun around and ripped the door open with enough force to dislodge the hinges.

The girl was perched on the bed, watching him fearfully. God, she looked so much like Carolyn it made him sick. This whole mess was that bitch's fault.

Jack had started crying. Quiet, tortured, groaning sounds, like she used to make after a particularly fucked up nightmare. He closed his eyes and honed into it. Let it seep into his skin, into his bones. He'd done his best. Done his best and she ended up hating him all the same.

Didn't hear the noises outside until it was too late. When he did, all he could do was cover the girl, knock her off the bed before the door blew in. Standing, he was greeted by the glare of a flashlight and six little laser beams dancing around his chest.

Out of his peripheral he could see Jack creep out of the bathroom, hands in the air, looking for him.

_No. For the girl_, he reminded himself. _Why should she give a fuck about you?_

Said girl started to squirm at his feet. He looked down at her; at the gauge she was trying to hand him and back to Jack. There were laser beams dotting her abdomen now, too.

He smiled inwardly – _cute kid_ – but shook his head a fraction of an inch. Any other time. But they had Jack in their sights and he'd be damned if he got her killed in the crossfire.

The clinking of chains drew his attention back to the cluster of armed mercs in the doorway. His control almost slipped again when Davis, followed by Riley and Gerod, swaggered through the crowd, swinging cuffs back and forth in one hand.

_Shoulda fuckin' known…_ Riddick's fingers started itching for his shiv.

Davis, however, already had his weapon out. And it was trained directly between Riddick's eyes. He slithered up behind Jack and tried to kiss her neck. She planted an elbow in his gut, then found his gauge tucked neatly underneath her chin.

Riddick jerked towards her. The lamp beside him exploded.

"Don't fucking try it," someone drawled from the door.

Davis just smiled at him over Jack's shoulder. He licked and bit the skin there, smiling wider as her heard Riddick's growl. Jack, looking disgusted, tried to turn away, but the barrel of his gun guided her back.

"What's the matter, baby? Ain'tcha happy to see me?"

"Obviously not, you piece of shit," she growled, cringing away from his touch.

Davis, shrugging, clapped the cuffs around her wrists, tightening them until she cried out.

"That's too fucking bad, sugar," he sneered, before knocking her to the ground and training his gun on Riddick. "Cause I'm _real_ happy to see you."

* * *

**(Sigh) I know, I know. It's been forever. Apologies. Caught up in my second chapter fic. **


	18. Fracture

The holding room was been empty when the crew had dragged them into the ship. They had stuffed Cobi, kicking and screaming, into a cryo locker. The girl had a set of lungs. And balls too, apparently. She'd taken a chunk out of one of the newbie's fingers before the asshole had slapped her hard enough to bust skin. The merc had gotten a face full of bloody saliva for his troubles. And the girl had continued screaming bloody murder the whole way.

Riddick couldn't help but think that Jack sure knew how to pick 'em.

And he could've laughed at the mercs squealing when the girl lodged an elbow into his crotch; but they had separated him from Jack and that increasingly common uneasiness was creeping into the back of his mind, making him think desperate thoughts. That was _not_ funny. That would get him killed.

So instead he analyzed the facts, took comfort in the concrete.

They were taking him to slam. No questions about that. Davis was on the run, most likely looking for a quick cash-in. There were only two prisons in that quadrant and Tangiers Penal wouldn't take him if he knocked on their door. Not after the mayhem he'd wreaked inside those walls. Crematoria it was. That was fine. He would deal with that when the time came.

But it was the immediate and unknown that had his gut churning. Where the fuck was Jack?

* * *

The first time he hit her it had stung like a bitch. The second time, not so much. By the sixth, she was barely there. She'd centered on a deeper pain. A real wound.

She was oblivious to the blood running from her nose, the welts across her stomach. When he spat Riddick's name at her she started to cry hot salty tears that had nothing to do with the stinging of her flesh.

She had wanted to tell Riddick she loved him. Had thought about it for weeks, what she would say if she only had one more chance. But then he'd barged in, cold and indifferent and it'd hurt worse than him being dead.

She felt a sharp tug, and the wench holding her chained hands above her head was abruptly lowered. She dropped to her knees, exhausted. Davis was on her at once, hands were in her hair, yanking her head back. His labored breath was hot on her raw skin, "Done with you for now, baby."

He pushed her down onto her elbows, planted a boot on her ass and sent her sprawling. She heard him walk to the door and then, "Maybe I'll pay a visit to your little friend. She's a cutie."

The door slammed shut the instant before she collided with it, screaming and raging against the cold unsympathetic steel.

* * *

Riddick knew mercs. Knew they liked the jaw-jackin' and shit talking, especially when they snatched a big mark. He'd been alone for three days. Unchecked and unharmed.

So when the holding room's door slid open, he barley responded. Knew it was just a matter of time.

But then he smelled her. Underneath sweat and stink and blood, he could smell her. He followed the sound of her steps, uneven, hesitant. She was injured, but not afraid.

The soft clinking of chains came from directly in front of him, then the snap of a lock.

Davis's voice called for, "Lights dim." Riddick opened his eyes and stared.

His thoughts skipped, failed. _Christ…._

She was on her back, chained, still in the t-shirt she'd been wearing in Talios. Her face was barely recognizable under the bruises.

Riddick reminded himself to breathe.

Davis watched him from the corner, smiling a little. "She's hard to break, this one."

Riddick swallowed, watched her chest rise and fall. She wouldn't open her eyes. Or couldn't, it was impossible to tell. He saw Davis move towards her, crouch, glide his hands intimately over her body.

He almost choked on his words, "Get the fuck away from her."

Davis didn't reply, didn't acknowledge him at all. He pushed his hands up underneath the shirt and Riddick suddenly understood.

* * *

Jack didn't struggle until his hands gripped her legs, trying to pry them apart. Davis hit her once, twice, three times and she fell back onto the floor, stars exploding in her vision.

She heard Riddick roar something unintelligible. The thump of what had to be his skull against the wall. Davis was in between her legs now; she could hear him struggling with a zipper.

She could feel Riddick's eye on her skin like fingertips. _Bastard_. She should've known he wouldn't close his eyes.

Then Davis was inside of her, bruising and tearing. She couldn't stop the scream. It was forever before he grunted once, forehead busting her lip as he collapsed on top of her. His stubble raked against her cheek as he planted a sloppy kiss, "It's been fun, Jackie girl."

He chuckled, rolled to his feet, stepped to Riddick, "That seemed to do the trick, what d'you think?"

It felt like years before she could open her eyes. More than pain there was shame. Riddick had seen everything, seen how little she was able to do. God, he had watched everything.

When she did, Davis had gone and the lights were on full.

Riddick was straining to keep his head turned away, and she wondered vaguely if he was crying. If it was even possible for him to cry.

_Probably the lights…_

She was too tired to care. Too broken, too weary. She could sleep forever.

She let her head drop back onto the metal floor and welcomed the approaching darkness.

* * *

**Do you hate Davis too? R&R, please and thank-you.**


	19. Underground

The sound of the holding bay door slamming open exploded into Jack's brain. She flinched, felt the unmistakable nudge of someone's steel toed boot in her back, rolled over and dug her nails into the tender skin behind someone's knee. The scream sounded like Riley's.

She rolled again and took the retributive kick in her back. Something popped sickeningly; and then she was yanked to her feet, muscles screaming in protest.

The fluorescent light felt like sandpaper on her eyeballs, but she could see the cryo-lockers. Cobi, absurdly small in a locker built for a full grown man. For a criminal.

She could feel Riddick behind her, then. Still chained to the wall, definitely awake, probably watching despite the bright lights.

Riley was there, and Gerod. There were new faces in the room, too. All young, desperate looking boys carrying gauges and shock sticks.

_God, did I look like that? _

Their eyes skirted past her, rested on the real threat. She heard Riddick snort quietly behind her and wished briefly that they would just shoot him.

Riley sidled up behind her, "Walk."

She walked.

The heat outside was absolute. She inhaled ash and sand, coughed, and spit up blood.

_What the hell?_

Riley was on her, shoving her down the ramp, across a stretch of magma rock, and into the expansive enclosed hangar bay. Davis emerged from the only door, grinning like the devil, flanked by men who could only be guards.

They grabbed her, lifted her chains above her head. Their hands on her were intrusive, rough, and underneath it all...shaking with some kind of disgusting excitement. She recoiled, earned a kick to the back of her knee that grounded her.

Davis's face loomed above her, brows knitted in manufactured concern. He stroked her face, quietly tutting.

"Careful, boys. You break, you buy."

She coughed again, groaned.

Davis stood, stepped over her. "Take her in. We still got the main attraction coming."

He smiled at her over his shoulder, all malice and thinly concealed amusement.

_Just like Johns. Jesus Christ. _

_Except the monsters here will keep me alive._

Despite the unrelenting heat Jack felt suddenly very, very cold.

* * *

Seemed like they were just handing over guns to anybody these days. Half of the new crew was probably younger than Jack. Scared kids trying to look tough.

They put his goggles back on, unchained him from the wall.

_Probably like Jack had looked when Davis snatched her up. Before he twisted her into his executioner for hire. Before he beat her. Raped her…_

He could feel himself start to slip. _Enough_. Thoughts like that made the six laser beams dancing across his chest seem trivial. And that would get him killed.

There was a quick shove from behind, "Walk."

He recognized Farris's voice and sneered. "Kid talked me out of killing you once. Don't count on that happening again."

Behind him, Farris snorted in laughter, snapped the cuffs as tight as they could go. The young punks seemed to like that. He noticed they made no attempts at getting closer, though.

"Won't have the chance, fucker."

Riddick took a bruising kick to the calf, and then felt a cool slip of steel slide into his left hand. A scalpel.

He smiled. The new faces looked worried, most stepped back a couple feet.

Farris pushed him again, more of a pat on the back than anything else. Riddick noticed, and appreciated, that the man was smart enough to keep his voice hard. "Now walk."

* * *

From her spot in the corner Jack could see the little vein that had begun to pulse in Davis's neck. The guards weren't cooperating. Didn't seem to like the listed price.

"Look" he snapped, pushing back his chair, "Riddick's eighty K. Non-negotiable. You're getting a deal here."

She laughed loudly, despite the crushing pressure in her chest. "I dunno about that. Riddick's trouble."

_More than you'll ever know…_

Davis shot her a murderous look, and she smiled back, bloody teeth glinting under florescent light.

The warden however, tipped his head thoughtfully, "The girl's right. Big money for that kinda liability."

There was a sharp knock of metal on metal, a door slid open. Said liability shuffled into the room chained, cuffed, restrained. Every gun in the room followed him.

Jack snorted, shook her head. Riley shoved the barrel of a gauge into her back.

_Jesus Christ! _The pain in her chest rose to an almost unbearable level. She fixed her eyes on the floor, fighting back tears.

She could feel the smile creeping across the warden's face. "Well. Speak of the devil and he will come."

Riddick's disdain was palpable, "Yeah, well I live to please."

"We were just discussing the terms of our…arrangement. Have a seat."

She heard a thud, and the unmistakable sound of kneecaps hitting concrete. Almost felt bad for him and then scolded herself for it.

_He played you. Again. If shit had worked out you'd be standing alone on a New Meccan runway. Like an idiot. Again._

She glared through her lashes at his kneeling form only to find that he was already watching her.

_This may be the last time I ever see him. _And that thought hurt more than she thought it should.

The movement of his head was almost imperceptible.

_What..._

She glanced around quickly. Everyone else was caught up in negotiations. Riddick was trying to signal her, part of her rebelled against it. Bristled at the thought of following his command, yet again.

His smirk downturned and she knew she had projected her thoughts. _Fuck, he might leave me here. Who knows? _

She nodded, grudgingly compliant.

He moved faster than any living thing had the right to. Behind him a guard dropped, intestines sliding out around his fingers. Another guard followed, slammed against the wall with Riddick's full weight on his ribcage. Jack winced at the sick crunching noise followed by the wet, breathy scream.

Riddick turned, kicked out and smashed the fuse box like paper bag.

In the dark there was an instant of impenetrable silence. And then the shooting started.

* * *

He'd always recognized the beauty in pandemonium.

The chaos in the room did not disappoint. Instead, it allowed precious time to drop onto his back and bring his hands up in front of him.

Riddick watched Jack propel her body blindly into Riley as he rose from his chair. They disappeared under the table together.

Some asshole had backed himself into a corner and started shooting off rounds at random. Doing Riddick's job for him. He almost regretted having to send a shiv into the guy's throat. Couldn't risk catching one of those stray bullets though.

Four guards and a merc later, Jack was still under the table.

_Fuck_.

Light exploded into the room. Someone had found the access pad. Bodies tumbled over each other. Riddick caught a fleeting glace at the back of Davis's head as the man kicked his way through the crowd and hi-tailed it up the corridor.

_Fuck him_, Riddick thought, wistfully. _Get Jack_.

He didn't need to. She crawled, chains and all, from underneath the table. A bib of blood around her neck, on her chin. She turned, kicked out hard. Riddick heard a wet snap, a pause, and then her dark chuckle.

Jack laughing at death. He found that fundamentally wrong. Didn't matter. It was time to go.

She liberated a ring of keys from Riley's corpse, unlocked her own cuffs and slung the chains around her neck.

"What're those for," he asked, snatching up a good sized gauge. _She killed someone. And laughed. What the fuck?_

She tossed him the keys with a little too much force, headed for the door, "You'll see." She stopped, "Thirty-four minutes 'till sunrise." Then she was gone.

It should've made him laugh, her threatening to leave him in the hellhole. Like that would ever fucking happen.

But when he picked up the last of the gauges he realized, stunned, that he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore. She'd gone. Quickly.

Riddick curbed the shock, shouldered the guns and sped off after her.

* * *

She ran like the devil himself was behind her.

The whooping and screaming from the prisoners below sounded hellish enough.

_Maybe Riddick is the devil. Maybe it's best I take off._

She rounded corner after corner with dark thoughts on her mind, until she fell into a coughing fit that sent a fine spray of blood onto the sandy floor.

She stumbled, fell. Was overcome with abject desperation, sickening panic.

_I'm not going to make it out of here. I won't even make it to the end of this tunnel. Not like this. _

And then he was pulling her, one hand locked in an iron grip around her wrist. Riddick tucked her under his arm and kept moving, guiding her swiftly through the passage.

She dug her nails into his arm and hung on.

_Just for now, _she told herself_. Just for now. _

By the time they reached the hangar bay's entrance each breath brought came with monumental effort. She was dizzy, clinging on to Riddick's arm so hard that his blood had begun to seep under her fingernails.

He pushed her gently against the wall, stooped down to her eye level.

"Jack." His voice was coming from far away, hands gently tapping her face. She swatted them away, clumsily.

It was so hard to breathe, the sick crackling in her lungs filled her ears. Riddick stooped lower, ear pressed against her chest.

His face went tight. "Fuck."

_Hmm,_ she thought, distantly. _Never a good sign, Riddick worried._

"No good, huh," she rasped, head falling back. He shook his head, began liberating weapons that she hadn't seen him stash.

From the hangar bay came the unmistakable tattoo of gunfire. Men shouting. An explosion.

"I hope," she coughed, spat up coppery fluid, "I hope they blow themselves to hell. Less work for us."

Riddick smiled tersely and nodded. There was another explosion, followed by familiar wrenching sounds.

_Like Severet. Except. Except I'm not making it out of this one. _

She watched Riddick arm himself to the teeth. Opened her mouth to tell him…she had to tell him…

His hand pressed against her lips before words could form, "No more talking, kid." Her determination fell, didn't rally.

"I need to get you out of here. You gotta stay here. Hear me?"

She nodded then shook her head, risked another breath, "Cobi."

Riddick's lips pressed thin, he gave her a long blank look. His voice was flat. "I'm getting you outta here, Jack. As fast as I can." He gripped her arms hard. "You stay _right _here. Do you understand me?"

More gunfire, this time closer. Her knees buckled and he lowered her to the ground. She nodded, miserable.

She wasn't going anywhere. She couldn't if she tried.

Riddick smirked but underneath it, for the second time in her life, she saw real fear. He kissed her forehead quickly, shoved a gun into her hands, and disappeared into the hangar bay.


	20. Sunrise

Riddick had been anticipating the catharsis of a good fight. That, and he was really looking forward to seeing the look on Davis's face when he gutted him slowly. But the hangar was motionless and eerily silent when he rounded the last corner. The bay door had been blown off at some point and smoking bits of metal lay smoldering on the ground outside. He lowered his gun, feeling a little slighted and then feeling foolish for it.

There was a whisper of sound. A furious but almost silent scuffle going on over by the prison transport ship. The ship he needed. The only feasible way to get Jack off of that rock.

Riddick moved like shadow around the perimeter of the room.

The unforgiving sound of a gunshot put Riddick on his stomach, finger resting lightly on the trigger of his own gauge.

There was the sound of unresisting body meeting concrete. Apparently, the fight was over. Permanently.

The low grating of a ramp being lowered cut through the silence of the bay.

_Davis_. Riddick growled lowly, sending puffs of dust whirling around his face. His finger tapped thoughtfully, eagerly, on the trigger. And then he was gone, propelling himself over cargo crates. And bodies. There were lots of bodies.

Mostly Davis's crew, young kids. Some guards in their uniform gray. He hurtled over them, indiscriminate, uninterested in anything other than the rapidly diminishing gap between the ramp and the ship's hull.

He powered on, passing indistinct bodies. Until the last one – _whoever lost that fight._

It was familiar in a way that none of the others were. _Farris. Dammit_. He almost stumbled, corrected his step, and flung himself towards the ramp.

He scrabbled over the top and landed ungracefully in a small holding bay. Davis stink was all present. Farris forgotten, Riddick felt himself smile.

* * *

_I'm dead. _

It made sense. She had died down there. Underground. Suffocated. She remembered that. It hurt. It still hurt. Fucking figured. Dead and still hurting. She snorted.

The sound echoed in her ears. She could still hear too.

And she could move. The muscle movement took a while, but she got her eyes open.

The option to stand up was eliminated swiftly. She ended up back on her hands and knees, coughing red into the sand.

Every breath hurt, but that was fine. She crawled an inch, and then a foot. It would be slow going, and that was fine too.

* * *

Someone had got to Davis already. There was a long ugly slash down the back of his vest. The man was hunched over the control floor, shaking, pumping fear and adrenaline into the air with every heartbeat.

Riddick sidestepped the small puddle of blood that was slowly seeping across the floor. He knew, disjointedly, that he was grinning.

It was beautiful, the way Davis's scrambling stopped when the barrel of the gauge pressed against the back of his skull.

Riddick could see both their reflections staring back at him from the front shield.

Davis's lips went white. Spittle flew. "You motherfucker. You think you and that cunt -"

Riddick twitched and Davis's temple was introduced, intimately, to the back end of a very, very heavy gun. And then Riddick was watching his own reflection stare back at him. He glared out of the blown open door of the hangar bay. It was almost dawn.

* * *

If anything, it was hotter in the hangar bay than it had been in the tunnel. She could see the Ishtar's shadow falling into the room. It would be dawn soon.

It would be over soon. She would burn, and Cobi would stay locked, frozen, in the cryo tube until the ship lost power or the inmates crawled up from below and got to her, which ever happened first.

She'd already made it this far. It couldn't hurt. She unstrapped the gauge from around her shoulder and leveled it on the ground. She didn't know who'd be coming around the corner, but she hoped….

"Riddick!"

* * *

Riddick's head whipped around, eyes narrowing. "Jack."

He glanced in between the limp body on the ground and the ship's single cryotube. A second later Davis's body was crammed inside and Riddick was hurtling off the ship's ramp at full speed, gun raised.

She had only planned on yelling once, but desperation overcame her and she found herself screaming for him until the sound of rapidly approaching steps cut her short. She squeezed the trigger a little harder, waiting.

"Jack."

She smiled. _Asshole_. The gun fell from her hand.

* * *

The sun was rising. He could see the heat waves radiating off the Ishtar's hull, so he knew that. Funny though, he was cold. So cold. Fire came roaring up over the crest of the mountain in front of him. He heard the faint popping sound of the Ishtar's engines exploding and smiled. It'd been years since he'd seen a proper sunrise anyways.

* * *

This time she was sure she was dead. In real life Riddick never came. He couldn't have taken them all. The sun came up and she died. Cobi was still sleeping in the Ishtar's holding bay. She wondered if dead people could still feel pain. She did. Figured.

"Wake up, Jack." Riddick's voice from nearby. She winced. _Oh. Christ. Is he dead too?_ She felt a very real pang of heartache.

Dead people couldn't open their eyes, but Riddick's face blocked her field of vision anyways. "Are you dead too," she croaked.

He smirked, and she felt another tug of something very real, very close to love. "Not yet."

She nodded. Nothing made sense. Didn't matter though, being dead and all.

"That's good."

She closed her eyes.

* * *

She registered the cold first. A deep chill that made her bones ache when she tried to move.

Opening her eyes was like moving heaven and earth. She blinked rapidly under the glare of fluorescent lights.

She sat up gingerly. Looked around. She'd died and gone to…a med-bay?

"What the fuck?" Her tongue felt thick and clumsy in her mouth. She slipped off the gurney, stood a minute trying to get her bearings.

The door slid open and she turned, not knowing what to expect. It was Riddick. Her hand gripped the sheets. They felt very real to her.

"You dead?"

He leaned up against the door frame, crossing his arms. "Didn't we go over this already?"

She shook her head, ineffectively trying to clear the fog in her brain. "Am I?"

He stepped to her, eyebrow quirked. "Get back in the bed."

Reflexively, she snorted. _Do dead people have reflexes? _

"The hell? I'm dead. You can't tell me what to do."

"Sure about that," he asked, dubiously. "This could be your personal hell."

She blinked at that, stunned. And then, despite herself, she laughed. A flare of pain in her chest cut that short. She leaned unsteadily on the gurney, head swirling.

"Does being dead hurt," she wheezed, leaning on him as he lifted her back onto the bed. Dead or not, lying down felt a lot better.

Riddick's voice was thick with amusement, "Wouldn't know."

She closed her eyes. Nodded. "Where's Cobi?"

There was a long silence. She couldn't bring herself to open her eyes while waiting for his answer.

Finally, "She's here."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Alive?"

"Alive enough to pilot, yeah."

_Huh? _Things were beginning to go a little fuzzy again. "Pilot? She's ten years old."

"Twelve." She heard him rooting around in some drawers. "She flies better than you did."

She snorted, didn't resist when he rolled her onto her side and began changing her bandage.

"I'm still mad at you."

"I know." He moved around the bed, brow furrowed in concentration.

"You're still an ass."

He taped the bandage down, less than gently. "I know."

She smiled softly into the pillow. It was probably the morphine's after effects, but she felt good. "Hey, Riddick?"

He grunted, she smiled again. Typical. "Where's Farris?"

His hands paused.

"Oh." Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears. She lowered her head back onto the pillow, no longer smiling. "What-," she trailed off, less than certain that she wanted to finish that question. Farris had been her friend. But Riddick....

Thinking about it made her head hurt. Decided not to mince words. "Did you kill him?"

"No." She remembered to breathe. He didn't sound offended. He didn't sound anything but cautious, and that was making her twitchy. There was something else.

_There's **always **something else._

"And Davis?" She tried for casual. She sounded sick.

Riddick offered nothing but silence.

_Oh._

"Where?"

He met her stare with a blank look. "In cryo. I'm letting him heal up."

She wet her lips, tried to steady her voice."You're…turning him in?"

His face went dark. "No, Jack. I'm not."

She turned around, closed her eyes again. They didn't talk anymore.


End file.
